The Bombay High Court has levied a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on a man for unlawfully recording audio during a court proceeding. The incident occurred while a bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata was reviewing a property dispute petition when court personnel discovered Sajid Abdul Jabbar Patel, a resident of Navi Mumbai, engaging in the recording of the arguments.
Upon confrontation, Patel identified himself as a relative of some respondents in the case. Court staff subsequently consulted with advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, who represented the respondents, and it was confirmed that Patel had not received authorization to record the proceedings.
As a result, Patel’s mobile phone was confiscated and delivered to the court registry. Venegaonkar acknowledged that no recording permissions had been granted. He advised the court that Patel’s actions were indefensible, yet he requested leniency due to it being Patel’s first offense.
The court noted Patel’s assurance to pay the imposed fine of Rs 1,00,000 to the High Court Employees Medical Welfare Fund in Mumbai within three days, which was accepted as a formal undertaking.
