NE LEGAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI, DEC 1
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure when a shirtless man was seen on the video-conferencing link during the hearing of a matter.
“Even after seven-eight months of video conferencing hearings, these things are happening,” said a bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta.
“This is not done,” the bench observed after the shirtless man was visible on the screen during the hearing.
This is not the first time such an untoward incident has happened in the apex court during hearings being conducted through video-conferencing.
The top court, which has restricted its functioning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is presently hearing matters through video-conferencing.
On October 26, a similar incident had happened before a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud when an advocate was seen on the screen while he was shirtless.
“I do not like to be hard for anyone but you are on screen. You have to be careful,” Justice Chandrachud had observed.
In June, a lawyer had appeared in a virtual hearing in the apex court while lying on bed and donning a T-shirt, drawing displeasure of the judge who observed that “minimum court etiquette” should be followed given the public nature of hearings.
The apex court had observed that lawyers appearing in matters via video-conferencing should be “presentable” and avoid showing images that are not appropriate.
In April this year, a similar incident had come to light when a lawyer had appeared in a bail hearing conducted through video-conferencing in a vest, drawing the ire of the Rajasthan High Court.
The high court had criticised the advocate for not appearing in proper uniform during the hearing.
