New Delhi, March 19 -- The Supreme Court has called on appellate courts across the country to ensure that convicts are duly notified at their registered addresses before appointing an amicus curiae (lawyer to assist court) to argue their appeals, cautioning that failure to do so risks undermining the fairness of criminal proceedings. A bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma noted that it has repeatedly encountered cases where convicts later challenge adverse verdicts on the ground that their appeals were argued by court-appointed lawyers without their knowledge or consent. The court underlined that while appointing an amicus curiae is often necessary, particularly when an accused is unrepresented or has abandoned proceed...