HC shocked at the behaviour during hybrid proceedings, says it’s time to return to physical hearing
The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered a Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) inquiry into an incident in which an advocate was involved in an “erotic act” with a woman during the virtual court proceedings. It also felt it’s time to stop hybrid hearings and return to the old procedure of conducting only physical hearings.
Justices P.N. Prakash and R. Hemalatha were shocked to come across the erotic act, having been shot on video by another participant of the virtual hearing. To top it all, the video was circulated widely on social media with one frame showing a judge of the court hearing a case and another frame containing the obscene act.
In the video, the judge was found reading the papers and hearing arguments from an advocate present in the court hall, when another lawyer, who had logged virtually, was seen being intimate with the woman.
Initiating suo motu contempt of court proceedings, the judges wrote, “A video clipping showing the online court proceedings of one of our brother judges, in which a male is found engaged in eroticism with a lady, is going viral in social media. This court cannot afford to be a mute spectator and turn a Nelson’s eye when such brazen vulgarity is publicly displayed amidst court proceedings.”
Since the video clipping prima facie disclosed commission of cognisable offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and other penal laws, the Bench directed the CB-CID to register a suo motu First Information Report. The investigating agency was also directed to file a preliminary report on Thursday naming the dramatis personae.
The judges also directed the Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police to take steps to block the circulation of the video in social media and ordered that the High Court’s Registrar (Information Technology-cum-Statistics) liaise with the authorities for removal of the video from the Internet.
The Bench, however, directed the Registry to preserve the video recordings of the proceedings in question for handing them to the CB-CID and for the further hearing of the contempt of court proceedings. The Registry was also ordered to share any other evidence, available with it on the issue, with the investigating agency.
“We are of the considered view that it is high time that we revisit the procedure of conducting court proceedings in a hybrid mode, especially in the light of the fact that advocates, in large numbers, have started appearing in person in our High Court as well in the District Courts,” the judges wrote.
Nevertheless, since a decision could be taken only by the Acting Chief Justice, the judges directed the Registry to place the matter before him.
They also ordered the listing of the case again on Thursday for receiving the names of the individuals involved in the act and passing further orders.
In the evening, the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry suspended from practice advocate R.D. Santhana Krishnan of Perambur in Chennai “for his indecent behaviour while attending the court proceedings of the honourable High Court of Madras through virtual mode.”
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