A lawyer arguing a bail application appeared in a vest in the Rajasthan High Court during the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, drawing the ire of the Judge who admonished him and adjourned the hearing in the case. The court has switched over to video-conference for litigation during the COVID-19 lockdown.
When the advocate, wearing his vest, started arguments seeking bail for his client in a criminal matter on Friday, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma at the High Court’s Jaipur Bench took umbrage at his “inappropriate attire” and told him that the lawyers must appear in proper uniform even during the video-conferencing.
“Even in the video-conferencing, the decorum of the court is required to be maintained. The Advocates Act provides for lawyers to wear their uniform while pleading the case for their clients,” the Judge observed in his brief order.
Justice Sharma said that he had earlier directed that the lawyers must appear in uniform during the lockdown, when in-person hearings had been replaced with video-conferencing. Another advocate had appeared from his home in his innerwear during the hearing in the same court earlier this month.
The Judge adjourned the hearing on the bail application till May 5. He had earlier asked the High Court Bar Association to inform the advocates that they should appear in their uniform for the court hearings conducted through video-conferencing.
Public Prosecutor Sumer Singh Ola, who appeared on behalf of the State government in the case, told The Hindu that the court’s cause list had clearly mentioned that the lawyers must appear in their uniform. “The advocates are probably not complying with the direction because of lack of awareness. They need to understand that video-conferencing is as good as in-person appearance.”
