Delhi High Court slaps ₹1 lakh costs on advocate for attending hearing from moving car

The Delhi High Court has imposed costs of ₹1 lakh on an advocate for appearing in a virtual hearing from a moving car.

Justice Om Prakash Shukla observed that the convenience of virtual proceedings cannot come at the cost of courtroom decorum or cause disturbance in the conduct of judicial proceedings.

"When this Court has to deal with more than 70 matters in a day, background noise and movement during the hearing are disruptive for this Court to proceed," the Bench said.

It added that even the High Court's Electronic Evidence and Video Conferencing Rules, 2025 state that an endeavour shall be made by advocates not to join proceedings from vehicles, except in exceptional circumstances and with the permission of the Court. 

"The requirement is not merely procedural and to ensure that even when Counsel appear virtually, they do so from an environment conducive to the proper functioning of this Court. There is no such exceptional circumstances existing in the present matter and the conduct of the Counsel is in violation of the rules," the Court said.

Therefore, it ordered Advocate Nachiketa Goyal to deposit the ₹1 lakh fine with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee (DHCLSC).

The High Court passed the order while hearing enforcement proceedings initiated by South Indian Bank and Union Bank of India against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

[Read Order]