The Gujarat High Court on Monday initiated suo motu contempt of court proceedings against Senior Advocate Bhaskar Tanna for allegedly drinking beer during a virtual hearing. .A Bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani termed Tanna's conduct as outrageous and barred him from appearing before them through virtual mode.The Court said that the order will be placed before the Chief Justice, and if permitted, the same will be circulated to other benches as well. “Till further orders are passed, we restrict the appearance of Shri Bhaskar Tanna to appear through virtual mode before this bench. The registry shall apprise the honourable Chief Justice about the present order. In case the honourable chief justice permits, the present order shall be circulated to Principal Private Secretaries and Private Secretaries of other respective benches,” the order stated.It directed the Registry to issue notice to Tanna and said that his Senior Advocate designation would be reconsidered. “Thus, the indecent act of Shri Bhaskar Tanna has very wide ramifications as it has travelled beyond the precincts of this prestigious institution. If the act which dents the glory and dignity of the institution is disregarded, it will be destructive to the rule of law and the institution will collapse,” the Court said. .A video shows Tanna appearing before Justice Sandeep Bhatt on June 26 sipping beer from a mug.The Division Bench today said that Tanna’s alleged act affects the younger members of the Bar who look up to senior lawyers as role models. “Such an act indubitably affects the young lawyer as the bar takes the senior counsel as the role model and mentors. The demeanour of Shri Tanna indubitably defiles the privilege of senior counsel conferred upon him by this court. In our opinion, the designation of senior counsel conferred on him requires reconsideration."Therefore, it ordered the Court’s Registry to register a suo motu contempt case against the lawyer. “Registry is directed to prepare a report and place it before this court by the next date of hearing. The registry is directed to preserve the video. After registration of the proceedings, the registry is directed to issue a notice to Shri Bhaskar Tanna. The matter shall be listed for further hearing after two weeks,” the Court said.
