The Gujarat High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of what it called "outrageous and glaring" misconduct by senior advocate Bhaskar Tanna, who was seen drinking from a beer mug and speaking on the phone while attending a court hearing virtually. The court has initiated contempt proceedings against him and warned that his designation as a senior counsel may be revoked.

The matter was brought to the attention of a division bench comprising Justice AS Supehia and Justice RT Vachhani, after a video clip showing Tanna’s behaviour during a virtual hearing before Justice Sandeep Bhatt on June 25 began circulating widely on social media.

In a sharply worded order, the bench said, “The video clip showing the advocate's conduct — speaking on the phone and drinking from a beer mug while participating in court proceedings — has serious implications. Ignoring such behaviour would strike at the very core of the rule of law.”

Calling the conduct unbecoming of a senior advocate, the judges directed the High Court registry to initiate contempt proceedings on its own motion and submit a report before the next hearing. The court also issued a notice to Tanna and barred him from appearing in virtual hearings until further orders.

“The privilege of being designated a senior counsel carries with it the expectation of upholding the dignity of the legal profession. Tanna's actions do not align with that responsibility. In our view, his designation should be reconsidered — though that will be decided at a later stage,” Justice Supehia said during the hearing.

The contempt matter is scheduled to be heard two weeks from now.

The incident follows another recent controversy involving inappropriate virtual courtroom conduct, where a video went viral of a participant attending court proceedings while seated on a toilet.