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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court, recently, reprimanded an advocate standing in a park with a mobile phone seeking an appearance. The bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia noted, “The hybrid courts also are courts only. Even in the daily cause list of this Court, specific directions to maintain decorum while appearing through videoconferencing are circulated everyday”. 

During an appeal concerning the recovery of a monetary loan, an advocate attempted to appear for the appellants while standing in a park and holding a mobile phone. 

The court noted that while videoconferencing should be encouraged to facilitate legal proceedings, advocates must adhere to proper decorum. It had been repeatedly observed that maintaining decorum was essential, as poor connectivity and lack of video presence often disrupted hearings.

The court emphasized that hybrid courts remained formal judicial institutions, and clear directions regarding decorum in virtual appearances were circulated daily, yet frequently disregarded.

In the course of dictating the order, the court observed that the said advocate had switched off his video. Consequently, his appearance was not marked in the case. While this situation could have led to the dismissal of the appeal for default, the court refrained from doing so to avoid prejudicing the litigant, who was not at fault. Instead, the court proceeded to examine the records.

Additionally, the court directed the Registry to extract relevant portions of the order and forward them to the Delhi High Court Bar Association and all District Bar Associations in Delhi. This measure aimed to sensitize legal practitioners regarding proper conduct in hybrid court proceedings.

For Respondent: Advocate Shivam Goel
Case Title: Shobha Verma v Ashok Kapoor (RFA 80/2025)