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Prayagraj, September 12 (HS). Allahabad High Court has imposed a fine of one lakh rupees on advocate Mehmood Pracha for wasting the valuable time of the court by filing a writ petition regarding the authenticity, integrity, security and verification of videography in the electoral process.
The Court also took exception to his conduct of coming (through video conferencing) wearing a coat and band and arguing his case without informing the Court that he was appearing in person. The Court directed him to be 'cautious' in future and ensure that he maintains the decorum and dignity of the Court.
In its order, a bench of Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Manjeev Shukla of the High Court said that Pracha had earlier filed two petitions on the same subject in the Delhi High Court. In which orders were passed to his satisfaction. Despite this, he approached the Allahabad High Court seeking similar relief.
The Court said that it is unable to understand as to why they have approached the High Court of the State of Uttar Pradesh when they had chosen to file the first two writ petitions in respect of the same subject matter (election to 7-Rampur Lok Sabha Constituency in Uttar Pradesh for the year 2024) in the Delhi High Court.
The Court expressed surprise at the conduct of Advocate Pracha in arguing a case filed in person while wearing his coat and band. Noting that Advocate Pracha did not remove his band before arguing, the Court emphasised that this behaviour was inappropriate for a senior member of the Bar who should be aware of the basic etiquette required while addressing the Bench in person.
The High Court said “Such behaviour is not expected from a senior member of the Bar, who is expected to be aware of the basic etiquette to be followed while addressing the Bench in person. Pracha is directed to be cautious in future and ensure that he maintains the decorum and dignity of the Court. Another aspect to be noted is that the petitioner had filed this writ petition through an advocate (Umar Jamin). Having done so, he could not have appeared in person without removing his advocate or without seeking permission from the Court”.
In view of the fact that the petition was filed in a wrong manner and as a result valuable time of this Court was wasted and also due to the 'improper modus operandi' adopted by him while appearing in person, the Court dismissed his petition with a cost of Rs. 1 lakh which is to be paid to the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority within 30 days.
The High Court said that if the fine is not paid, the court has directed the Registrar General to take necessary action to recover it as per law.