Amid this lockdown, almost every process has been digitized. Likewise, all the court hearings are also conducted virtually which is coming with many shocking incidents. On Monday, the Supreme Court bench was shocked as well as angry over the incident that happened during a video conference meeting. An advocate was seen shirtless for a few seconds during the VC hearing of the Sudarshan TV case.
When the video conference started, an image of a shirtless person appeared on the screen for a few seconds. The presiding Judge of the SC bench, D Y Chandrachud showed great displeasure over the incident, and when inquired who the advocate was thrice, the advocate logged out immediately.
After the bench adjourned the matter, Justice D Y Chandrachud told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, “Some counsel appeared without wearing a shirt during VC. There has to be some decorum.” To which SG Mehta also agreed and stated that this is something unpardonable.
Another judge of the bench, Justice Indu Malhotra also expressed her disgust over the advocate’s behaviour and stated, “This is very bad.”
The bench asked the SG to have a conversation with the lawyer and make sure that such things are not repeated in the future.
The misconduct came from the Advocate on record who has filed an intervention application against Sudarshan TV on behalf of the OpIndia and others in the case.
Justice D Y Chandrachud also said, “Such an incident is an affront to the court as even though hearings are happening through VC, the court is a full-fledged regular court and counsels should be extra careful. He further added that he is not someone who wants to take action in such incidents but the lawyers need to be cautious while they appear before the court.
This was not the first time that such an incident is being encountered during a VC hearing. Two or three months back, Gujarat HC has imposed a fine on an advocate for smoking during a virtual court hearing. There was another incident where a lawyer can be seen attending a VC hearing in a Banyan.
