Mumbai News

‘Highly objectionable’ photos in plea: Bombay HC asks lawyer to pay Rs 25k to library – The Indian Express

A bench led by Justice Revati Mohite-Dere of the Bombay High Court recently directed an advocate to deposit a cost of Rs 25,000 with a library for his conduct of attaching “highly objectionable” photographs in a petition.

The bench said all lawyers should exercise some restraint while annexing such photographs and that the same “invade upon privacy of the parties” and asked the advocate to forthwith remove them from copies of the plea served to the respondents.

In view of the order, the Advocates’ Association of Western India (AAWI), an organisation of lawyers practicing in the Bombay High Court, issued a notice asking all its members to refrain from attaching objectionable and obscene photographs with petitions and, in case of any need, to place them before the high court at the time of hearing of the case with the permission of the court.

The bench of Justices Mohite-Dere and Shriram M Modak was on October 7 hearing a writ plea by a woman, argued by advocates Anand Pandey and Ramesh Tripathi.

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The bench noted, “Whilst perusing the papers, we came across highly objectionable photographs annexed by the counsel for the petitioner to the aforesaid petition. No sense of proportion or discretion is exercised by the learned counsel whilst annexing the said photographs. Advocates fail to realize that these petitions are filed/placed before the registry and get circulated through various departments, exposing the parties involved in the photographs.”

It added, “We expect all lawyers/advocates to exercise some discretion and proportion whilst annexing the photographs which are highly objectionable. Annexing such photographs certainly invades upon the privacy of the parties and as such, we direct the counsel for the petitioner to forthwith remove the said photographs… The photographs also be removed from the copies served on the learned counsel for the respondents, as well as from the copies served on the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) forthwith.”

Posting hearing in the plea to October 21, the bench directed the advocate to deposit Rs 25,000 with the Kirtikar Law Library within two weeks from the date of order.

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On Sunday, the AAWI, through its secretary advocate Kuldeep S Patil, issued notice to its members in view of the order and stated, “It has been noticed by the court that in the number of petitions filed before it in connection with offences against women, the parties rely upon photographs, video clips, of such victims. The court also noted that many of these photographs are indecent, obscene and portray the women in bad taste. Such display is not only insulting, humiliating, but also disclosing the identity of the victim. The court has imposed costs on such parties.”

It further said, “Hence, the advocates, members, filing clerks are advised not to annex such photographs to petition. They may seek leave to produce such material before the high court, with the permission of the court, at the time of hearing of the petition.”

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/highly-objectionable-photos-in-plea-bombay-hc-asks-lawyer-to-pay-rs-25k-to-library-8202145/