AHMEDABAD: Virtual court hearings may allow litigants to attend from anywhere, but two men learnt the hard way that ‘anywhere’ does not mean ‘anyhow’. Casual disregard for courtroom decorum proved costly for two individuals who appeared for Gujarat high court proceedings via video link. While one was fined Rs 2 lakh and sentenced to community service for joining in from a lavatory, the other was penalised for participating while lying on his bed, treating the hearing like a movie night.
One of them, Dhaval Patel, the son of a litigant, joined the proceedings through an online video link in Justice M K Thakker’s court. The court disconnected the 42-year-old’s link as he had joined in an “indecent” state. However, he rejoined the proceedings, this time from a lavatory. His link was disconnected again. The court inquired about him and found he was a graduate working with a top corporate group.
Upset with Patel’s behaviour, The judge stated in an order on March 5, “In such a scenario, the indecent act is not only unacceptable, but it is shameful and is required to be strictly condemned. If courts do not deal with such a person with strong hands, then that may result in lowering the dignity of the institution in the eyes of the public.”
The HC imposed a Rs 2 lakh fine on Patel, which he paid in the registry. The court ordered Rs 50,000 from the amount to be donated to an orphanage in Paldi, and the rest to be deposited with the Gujarat HC Legal Aid Authority. The court also directed Patel to clean and water the gardens on the high court campus at Sola for two weeks, completing eight hours of community service daily. His service ended on Thursday.
Patel was not alone in his irreverence. Days before his incident, on Feb 13, another litigant, Vamdev Gadhvi, joined a virtual court session and Justice Thakker noticed him lying on his bed. This did not go down well with the court, which imposed a fine of Rs 25,000. The court order reads, “Online hearing facilities were provided for access to justice and larger public interest, but at the same time, the person joining the online link has to maintain utmost discipline and decorum for upholding the dignity and majesty of the court.”
“The petitioner was lying on his bed and watching the court proceedings as if he was enjoying a movie. Such conduct compromises the dignity and the decorum of the Court and therefore, it cannot be tolerated. If such an act is not dealt with strong hands that may result in lowering the dignity of the Court in the eyes of the public,” the court stated in its order.
