‘Such behaviour has become frequent’: HC directs contempt proceedings against man seen on toilet during virtual hearing
Earlier in March, the Gujarat HC had imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on a litigant who had joined a virtual hearing from a lavatory.
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Stating that the video had tarnished the image of the court, the bench said it is required to be “immediately banned and deleted”. (File Photo)Days after a video of a man, purportedly seen attending a virtual proceeding while sitting on a toilet, was widely shared on social media, the Gujarat High Court has directed that a suo motu contempt proceeding be registered against the Surat resident while remarking that “such disorderly and uncontrolled behaviour has become frequent”.
Stating that the video had tarnished the image of the court, the oral order of the bench said it is required to be “immediately banned and deleted”.
In an oral order passed on June 30, and uploaded Thursday, a Division Bench of Justice A S Supehia and Justice R T Vachhani directed the Registry to register suo motu contempt proceedings against the man “upon verification”, and to produce a “necessary report” before the next date of hearing.
“After the registration of contempt proceedings, the Registry shall issue the notice to the contempt or as to why he should not be prosecuted and punished for committing Contempt of Court as defined under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. A suo motu proceedings shall be listed after a period of two weeks,” the court said in the oral order.
Stating that the Presiding Judge of a court may direct to stop live streaming in such situations, the court also directed the Registrar, Information Technology, to “apprise this court about the mechanism to stop contumacious litigants in participating in livestreaming proceedings”.
The incident took place on June 20, when the man, a complainant in an FIR lodged at the Kim police station in Surat district, had joined the virtual proceedings of the court of Justice Nirzar Desai and was purportedly seen sitting on a toilet while awaiting his turn to consent to quashing a petition. “The infamous video tarnishing the image of this Court is widely circulated in social media and is required to be immediately banned and deleted,” the Court said.
In the now-viral video clip of the live streaming of the proceedings, the man was initially seen in a close up with headphones. However, as he sets his phone aside moments later, the video shows him on a toilet. He is then purportedly seen washing, and walking out of the bathroom to a different surrounding while awaiting his turn.
Earlier in March, the Gujarat HC had imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on a litigant who had joined a virtual hearing from a lavatory. He was also sentenced to community service for two weeks – cleaning and watering the garden of the HC in Sola in Ahmedabad on an eight-hour daily shift. The court had rejected the defence of the man that he had joined the HC proceeding virtually for the first time and therefore, committed a mistake.
The contempt proceeding against the Surat resident came a day prior to the Division Bench initiating suo motu contempt proceedings against Senior Advocate Bhaskar Tanna for appearing in a virtual court proceeding while “having a drink from a beer mug” and “talking on his phone”.
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