Litigant fined Rs 50,000 for recording HC hearing

NEW DELHI: Even as the Supreme Court debates if video recording of court proceedings can be allowed, an over-enthusiastic litigant landed in trouble in the Delhi high court this week for recording a court hearing.

The court of justices Hima Kohli and Rekha Palli witnessed some drama, when an alert court staffer spotted a man, whose property dispute case was being heard, secretly recording the audio of the proceedings.

When the bench rose briefly during the hearing, the court staff informed the judges about how one of the litigants recorded entire proceedings on his mobile phone while standing at the far end of the courtroom.

The judges ordered that his phone be seized and when checked, an 18 minute audio clip of the ongoing hearing was found.

“On reassembling, when we asked the respondent to explain his conduct, he admits that he has made an audio recording of the court proceedings on his mobile phone and states that he had done so to derive ‘perverse pleasure’ against his brother, the appellant before us,” a surprised bench noted in its order.

HC found the explanation “unacceptable” and noted that there is no permission to any party to record the court proceedings by making an audio/video recording.

“The respondent has no explanation to offer for his conduct, nor has he expressed any remorse in all this duration. His mobile phone is directed to be confiscated and deposited with the registrar general. The audio recording of the court proceedings in the mobile phone shall be deleted in the presence of the registrar general,” the bench further directed.

It then imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the offender and asked him to deposit the money within two days with the ‘Delhi High Court Advocates Welfare Trust’.

Once the proof of deposit is shown to the RG, the court said the mobile phone will be returned.