Lawyer cosies up with woman at virtual hearing, Madras HC orders probe

CHENNAI: Embarrassed and left red-faced after a lawyer's intimacy with a woman went live during a virtual court hearing, the Madras high court has directed the CB-CID to register a case and probe the incident.
Apparently unaware that the camera was on, the lawyer, who was waiting for his case to be called, got cosy with a woman for a few moments on Tuesday morning.
On its part, the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry prohibited advocate R D Santhana Krishnan from practising law in view of his "indecent behaviour while attending the court proceedings through virtual mode".
"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," said a division bench of Justice P N Prakash and Justice R Hemalatha.
Police told to block viral video clip
The HC bench said, “Ergo, we take cognizance of the video clipping for initiating suo motu criminal contempt proceedings.” The court then directed the registry to register a suo motu criminal contempt proceedings based on the video clipping. “Since the video clipping prima facie discloses the commission of cognizable offences under the Information Technology Act and other penal laws, the CB-CID shall register a suo motu FIR on the video clipping and file a preliminary report before this court on December 23 naming the dramatis personae who are found engaged in the vulgar activity,” the court said.
The court has also directed the Chennai police commissioner to take steps to block the circulation of the video in social media.
“The Registrar (IT-cum-statistics) shall take steps to liaise with the authorities concerned for removal of the impugned video clipping from the internet,” the judges added.
“Superadded, we are of the considered view that it is high time that we revisit the procedure of conducting court proceedings in 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 court said.
However, a decision in this regard has to be taken by the Acting Chief Justice before whom this matter may be placed, they added.