In a bizarre and now widely circulated incident, a man appeared in a virtual hearing of the Gujarat High Court while sitting on a toilet. As per the information, the shocking episode occurred on June 20 during proceedings before the Bench of Justice Nirzar S Desai. The one-minute video shows the man, logged in under the name 'Samad Battery', attending the hearing with a Bluetooth earphone around his neck, apparently relieving himself and even placing his mobile phone on the floor while cleaning himself.
HC was hearing cheque bounce case
The court was hearing a matter related to a cheque bounce case. According to records, the man was the original complainant in the criminal case but was appearing as a respondent in the virtual session, which was for quashing of a First Information Report (FIR) following an amicable settlement between the parties. Despite the man's shocking conduct, the FIR was ultimately quashed by the court as both sides had resolved the matter.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
How netizens reacted?
The netizens were stunned to see as soon as the video went viral on social media. Reacting to the video, one of the users wrote on X, "Attending court proceedings requires maintaining decorum and professionalism at all times. Participating from inappropriate locations, such as a toilet, undermines the dignity of the judicial process and is unacceptable." Tagging Gujarat DGP and Gujarat CMO on X, another user called for strict action against the man. "@dgpgujarat @CMOGuj please take action if it true because his disrespect honourable high court (sic)," he wrote. However, showing concern, a third user wrote, "I hope the judges don't use this as an excuse to ban remote hearings."
Not the first virtual court misconduct in Gujarat
Notably, this is not the first time the Gujarat High Court has faced inappropriate behaviour during online hearings. In March, a man was fined Rs 2 lakh and sentenced to community service for logging into court proceedings from a lavatory. Just a month earlier, another individual was penalised Rs 25,000 for attending a virtual hearing while lounging in bed.