Doctor Fined Rs 50,000, His Mobile Seized for Secretly Recording Court Proceedings

New Delhi: A man had to lose his mobile phone besides being punished with a fine of Rs 50,000 for secretly recording proceeding in the Bombay High Court's Aurangabad bench.

The High Court took a grim view of the conduct of the doctor, who had video-recorded proceedings on his mobile phone without any authorisation. The single judge bench was hearing a matter relating to disqualification of a woman candidate as sarpanch on September 11 when the incident happened.

Dr Vikram Shridharrao Deshmukh, who was a friend of the disqualified sarpanch's husband, was present in the court and started shooting the proceedings on his mobile phone. However, a court staff noticed Deshmukh using him mobile phone and brought this to the notice of the judge. Subsequently, the device was confiscated.

The judge then asked Deshmukh to unlock the device using the pattern key. Subsequently, the judge and the lawyers present watched the clip and it was clear Deshmukh had shot the proceedings on his phone.

Justice Ravindra V Ghuge then ordered for confiscation of the device along with Deshmukh's Aadhaar card, which the judge said, shall be preserved by the Registrar (Judicial) until further orders.

The court then asked Deshmukh and the lawyers for his friend's wife to choose between seven days in jail or Rs 1 lakh in fine. At this, Deshmukh pleaded guilty of contempt of court charge and agreed to cough up a fine of Rs 50,000.

"I, therefore, direct that the amount of Rs 50,000 shall be deposited by Dr. Vikram Shridharrao Deshmukh by September 25," thus ordered Justice Ghuge.

The judge also made it clear that Deshmukh will be hauled up for aggravated contempt if he does not pay up the money by the stipulated time. "If the amount is not deposited, this court would initiate contempt proceeding for aggravated contempt against Dr Vikram Deshmukh, besides passing appropriate orders for recovery of amount," ordered the judge.

The case was then fixed for hearing on September 30 with a direction to the Registrar to download the video recording and preserve it along with the cell phone and his Aadhaar Card in the records of the Court.