Irked by the casual approach of a police officer who was found sipping a beverage during a virtual hearing, the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday directed the officer to distribute 100 cans of a cold drink to the Bar Association or face disciplinary action.
Chief Justice Aravind Kumar reprimanded Inspector A.M. Rathod after he was found drinking something that looked like a cold drink during an online hearing of a case in which he was accused of assaulting two women at a traffic junction.
While rebuking the police officer, the Chief Justice recalled a similar incident when he had to pull up an advocate for eating a samosa during virtual proceedings of the court a few days ago.
“We said that we have no objections to you eating a samosa. But the only ground is, you cannot eat it in front of us, because others are also tempted. Either he should give it to everybody or he should not eat it,” the Chief Justice said.
Subsequently, the Chief Justice directed the government pleader to ask Inspector Rathod to distribute 100 cans of the cold drink to the Bar Association, failing which he would direct the chief secretary to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.
“It was in a lighter vein that the court asked him not to have the cold drink alone, but share it with others as well. The court had similarly asked an advocate to share a samosa he was eating during online proceedings,” said a government pleader who was present during the hearing.
The Inspector had appeared before the court for the hearing of a petition accusing him and some other officers of beating up two women at a traffic junction. The police commissioner on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the matter by a DCP-level officer, directing that a report be submitted within 10 days.
