The Madhya Pradesh High Court fined a lawyer Rs 10,000 for joining a virtual hearing from inside his car, calling it disrespectful to the dignity of the court. The fine will go to the High Court Legal Services Committee.
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JABALPUR: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken a strict stand against what it called an inappropriate way of attending court hearings. On Friday, the Court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on a lawyer who joined the court proceedings through video conferencing while sitting inside his car.
The matter was heard by a Division Bench consisting of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla.
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The judges observed that the facility of appearing through video conference is meant only for lawyers who cannot be physically present in the courtroom due to genuine reasons, and it should be used with respect.
The Court said-
“The facility of arguments through video conferencing is given to facilitate the counsels, who are unable to mark their presence before Court physically and submit their arguments. It is, however, not a facility where the formality of such appearances can be relaxed of appearing through V.C. in such a manner that the dignity of the Court is compromised and has failed to show appropriate respect and honour to the Court.”
According to the Bench, attending a virtual court hearing from inside a car does not show proper respect towards the judicial process.
The judges stressed that such conduct goes against the decorum expected in a court of law, whether the hearing is physical or virtual.
Due to this, the High Court decided to impose a penalty of Rs 10,000 on the lawyer. The Bench further clarified that the fine amount must be deposited with the High Court Legal Services Committee.
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