Virtual meetings and conferences have often provided participants with the liberty of dressing down since the clothing is not completely visible on screen. Even during the virtual court proceedings, lawyers have often been slammed by the judges for not attending the hearing in proper uniforms. Yesterday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi was caught on camera during virtual court proceedings with no pants.
Singhvi, who is also a Congress leader, was attending multiple court proceedings simultaneously using different screens. When one of the screens connected to the Calcutta High Court accidentally fell off, Singhvi, who was sitting primly with a neat white shirt, was seen wearing no pants. The Calcutta High Court and all lawyers and persons attending the hearing then saw the senior lawyer wearing bright coloured shorts.
The judges took note of the faux pas while the rival lawyer, who was arguing at the moment, suppressed his grin and continued with his contentions. The court staff was upset by Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s lack of decorum and they conveyed their disapproval to him. In his defence, Singhvi said that he is away from his home in an isolated place, soaking up the sun while attending the court proceedings.
However, someone who was attending the virtual hearing was amused by the incident and took a screenshot of Singhvi’s gaffe. Soon the screengrab of Abhishek Manu Singhvi attending court proceedings in boxer shorts started doing the rounds in lawyer circles and from thereon to social media platforms.
Meanwhile, someone from Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s office also leaked the photo of how Singhvi appears in virtual courts by wearing just shirts and not trousers.
As the pictures of Abhishek Manu Singhvi attending the virtual court hearing in boxer shorts started doing the rounds on social media websites, netizens were quick to point out that this was not the first time that Singhvi has been caught with his pants down. They harked back to the 2012 incident when the senior Congress leader was allegedly caught making love to a lady advocate who was eyeing to become a judge in Delhi High Court. A sex video had gone viral which allegedly featured Singhvi which was shot in what looked like a court chamber room. He, however, had denied that it was him in the video.
Gaffes during virtual court proceedings
There have been umpteen incidents of gaffe during the virtual court proceedings. Last year, advocate Rajeev Dhawan was caught smoking hookah during an online hearing in the Rajasthan High Court. Similarly, just recently, fans of actor Juhi Chawla interrupted a virtual court hearing by singing songs of the actor.