No takers for physical hearing on Sept 1

The Supreme Court had planned to gradually resume physical hearing from September 1 in a hybrid option, including video-conferencing, but no physical hearing is listed before any Bench on Wednesday as no lawyers came forward to opt for it.

The decision appears to have been put on hold in view of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the largest body of lawyers practising in the Apex Court, protesting against the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) issued on August 28.

In a letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, SCBA President Vikas Singh said: "In our view, the SOP is a non-starter as our members would not like to take the option for physical hearing with so many conditions attached."

The head of US Central Command General Kenneth ‘Frank’ McKenzie announced the end of the mission to Afghanistan during a news conference on Monday at the Pentagon, informing reporters the last US aircraft took off in Kabul just before midnight local time, ahead of President Biden's deadline for completing the withdrawal. “It's a mission that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, along with many of his al-Qaida co-conspirators,” McKenzie said, noting the cost to the US was high. “Two thousand four hundred sixty-one US service members and civilians killed, and more than

20,000 who were injured,” he said. “We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out,” he said about the 18-day effort described as the largest airlift in US military history.

In the end, McKenzie said, the US evacuated over 79,000 civilians through the Kabul airport, which includes 6,000 Americans and about 73,000 Afghans and third-country nationals. Following the US pullout, Taliban fighters were seen exploring Kabul airport and taking over its facilities, including a hangar with aircraft apparently left behind by the American military. “The Taliban has made commitments on safe passage and the world will hold them to their commitments. It will include ongoing diplomacy in Afghanistan and coordination with partners in the region to reopen the airport allowing for continued departure for those who want to leave and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” Biden said.