Gujarat High Court fined a man Rs 1 lakh for appearing in a virtual hearing from a toilet. The Court called his act “contumacious” and is considering jail time.
Ahmedabad: In a shocking incident that has raised questions about the dignity and decorum of virtual court proceedings, the Gujarat High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on a man who appeared during an online hearing while seated on a toilet and was seen relieving himself on live video. The matter was taken up suo motu by the Court.
The incident, which took place on June 20, occurred during a virtual hearing before Justice Nirzar S Desai. A man, later identified as Samad Abdul Rehman Shah, appeared in the online court session under the username ‘Samad Battery’.
The video of the hearing, which soon went viral on social media, initially showed a close-up of the man wearing a Bluetooth earphone.
As the camera moved, it revealed that the man was seated on a toilet seat. The video further captured him cleaning himself and walking out of the washroom, after which he briefly disappeared from the screen before rejoining the proceedings.
On Monday, a Division Bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani came down heavily on the man for his disgraceful conduct.
The Court observed that Shah’s behaviour during the live hearing was unacceptable and disrespectful.
In a stern warning, the Bench stated:
“The contemnor has admitted about his conduct during the live-streaming proceedings. Thus, at this stage, we direct the contemnor to deposit Rs 1 lakh before the registry of this court before the next date of hearing.”
The Court also expressed concern over the fact that no preventive action or guidelines had been provided by the High Court’s IT department to stop such incidents from happening in the future.
The Court pointed out that despite its earlier direction, the Registrar (Information & Technology) of the High Court had failed to file a reply or suggest any steps to address the issue.
Taking note of this lapse, the Court commented on the lack of seriousness from the administration and stated that the issue required immediate attention to preserve the sanctity of virtual courtrooms.
Meanwhile, the lawyer appearing for the Registrar assured the Bench that he would assist the Court in the matter in the next hearing.
As of now, the Court has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Samad Abdul Rehman Shah and has hinted at possible jail time as well. The judges remarked that his behaviour was not only inappropriate but also amounted to contempt of court.
The Court strongly criticized the act and called it “contumacious”, indicating that it was wilfully disrespectful.
The matter is now listed for further hearing on July 22.
According to the court records, the man in question was a respondent in a petition seeking the quashing of an FIR.
Interestingly, he was also the original complainant in the criminal case. Eventually, since the matter was resolved amicably between the parties involved, the Court went ahead and quashed the FIR.
Case Title:
under the title Suo Motu v. Samad Abdul Rehman Shah.
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