The Gujarat High Court has ordered a man named Abdul Samad to pay a ₹1 lakh fine and do 15 days of community service after he attended an online court hearing while sitting on a toilet.
According to a media report, on July 14, a bench of Justice A S Supehia and Justice R T Vacchani directed him to deposit the fine by July 22. The court acted after a report revealed that Samad was seen attending a virtual hearing for 74 minutes from the washroom on June 20, wearing a Bluetooth headset.
The hearing, related to a case Samad had filed, was live-streamed, and the video—clearly showing him sitting in the toilet—went viral on social media. This led the court to take action for contempt.
Though Samad’s lawyer apologized and promised it wouldn’t happen again, the court decided to punish him to set an example.
In a separate case, senior advocate Bhaskar Tanna, who was seen drinking a beer-like drink during an online hearing on June 26, was let off with a warning.