Supreme Court Appoints Senior Advocates Jaideep Gupta & Meenakshi Arora As Amici Curiae In Suo Moto COVID Case

"During national crisis, Supreme Court cannot be a mute spectator. The role of the Supreme Court is complimentary in nature. The issues which travails state boundaries is what this court will look into and thus Article 32 jurisdiction has been assumed", said the Court

The Supreme Court has clarified that the purpose of the top Court court assuming jurisdiction suo moto under Article 32 is not to supplant or substitute the process of hearings undertaken by various High Courts to deal with issues related to pandemic.


"High Courts are best situated to make an assessment of ground realities in each states and find flexible solutions for the problems faced by citizens.Therefore, we see no reason or justification to interdict the High Courts." the Bench has said.


Having said that, the Bench further observed that there is still a need for Supreme Court to intervene on certain national issues, as there might be issues relating to coordination between states.


The Bench added that the intervention of the Supreme Court must be understood in the correct perspective. There are some issues which transcend the regional boundaries.


"At a time of national crisis, the Supreme Court cannot be a mute spectator" the bench observed.


The Bench clarified that the Supreme Court is playing a complementary role to the High Courts, and if they have any difficulty in dealing with an issue due to territorial limitations, the top Court will help.


"It is in that spirit that the Supreme Court has assumed jurisdiction suo moto under Article 32. Therefore, we clarify that the High Courts need not be restrained from dealing with the issues." the Bench observed.