Rajasthan High Court Adjourns Hearing After Lawyer Appears In 'Baniyan' For Video Conference

The incident took place even after the High Court Bar Association issued instructions earlier in April urging advocates to appear dressed in their uniforms during hearings conducted via video-conferencing during the lockdown.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: In times of lockdown when people are getting used to working remotely through technology, it seems some people have taken the work etiquettes too casually forcing the Rajasthan High Court on Saturday adjourn a matter as the advocate who appeared via videoconferencing was seen wearing a ‘baniyan’ (vest). Earlier in April, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma had given instructions to High Court Bar Association urging advocates to appear dressed in their uniforms during hearings that are conducted via video-conferencing because of the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreak. The case which got adjourned on Saturday will be heard next on May 5. In the current order, Justice Sharma noted, "Learned counsel for the petitioner was contacted through video conferencing was found to be wearing baniyan." He once again stressed that the court has already observed that during this pandemic where court functioning is being done through video conferencing, lawyers must appear in proper uniform. Even though video conferencing a decorum of the court is required to be maintained. He mentioned that the Advocates Act provides for lawyers to wear the uniform while pleading the case for their clients. With exactly a month since India went into a lockdown, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country mounted to 24,506 on Friday evening. Of the total cases, 18,668 are active, 5,062 people have recovered, and 775 people have succumbed to the disease.