AoR absent in court citing travel, Supreme Court asks him to produce ticket as proof

The Supreme Court last week took objection to the absence of an advocate-on-record (AoR) in court during the hearing of a case filed through him. .A Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma was not convinced by the explanation tendered by the Senior Advocate in the case that the AoR, P Soma Sundaram, was out of station on a visit to a remote village in Tamil Nadu.Since the AoR's presence could not be secured even via video conference, the Court ordered that he appear physically before the Bench on the next date of hearing of the matter on April 1. He was also directed to produce tickets of his travel to Tamil Nadu."It is therefore directed that the learned Advocate on Record, Mr. P. Soma Sundaram, shall remain physically present before this Court on 01.04.2025 at 10:30 am along with all the tickets of his travel to Tamil Nadu and back, as it is stated at the Bar that he is at present in the remote village of Tamil Nadu and therefore, not in a position to enter his appearance," the Court directed in its order of March 28. .The case, an appeal against an order of the Madras High Court in a criminal matter, came up for hearing before the Bench on the morning of March 28.The Court then noted the absence of AoR and asked for an explanation from Senior Advocate R Nedumaran who was the arguing counsel.Nedumaran stated that Soma Sundaram was not in Delhi and was travelling to Tamil Nadu.The Court then said that the matter will be taken up at 2 pm and directed that Soma Sundaram attend the proceedings through virtual court."We asked Mr. R Nedumaran about the presence of Mr. P Soma Sundaram, the Advocate on Record appearing for the petitioner. He stated that the learned AOR, Mr. P Soma Sundaram, is not in the town at present and he is in remote village of Tamil Nadu. We asked him to make his presence available through virtual mode at 2:00 pm," the order noted.However, when the matter was taken up at 2 pm, another arguing counsel, PV Yogeshwaran stated that Soma Sundaram is in a remote village in Tamil Nadu and not in a position to appear through virtual mode.Yogeshwaran also stated that he belongs to the same village where Soma Sundaram has gone and therefore, knows that there is a connectivity problem there."At 2:00 p.m. when the matter was called out, one Mr. PV Yogeshwaran, learned Advocate appeared and stated that he tried to contact the AOR, Mr. P Soma Sundaram telephonically, but he is not reachable as he is in some remote village of Tamil Nadu and therefore, he is not in a position to even appear through virtual mode," the Court noted..In light of the same, the Court deferred the hearing in the matter and posted it for consideration on April 1. The Court also directed Soma Sundaram to be present on that date with proof of his travel to Tamil Nadu..[Read Order]