NEW DELHI: The Gujarat high court on Tuesday began contempt proceedings against a lawyer who was seen on a video drinking from a beer mug and speaking on his phone while attending a virtual hearing.Also Read | ‘On the pot during court’: Man attends Gujarat HC virtual hearing from toilet seat; video goes viralThe court described the conduct of senior counsel Bhaskar Tanna as “outrageous and glaring” and directed the registry to file a report for further proceedings, news agency PTI reported.

The division bench of justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani also observed that Tanna’s behaviour “could not be ignored” and ordered that contempt of court proceedings be initiated on its own motion.“We direct the registry to initiate suo motu contempt of court proceedings against senior counsel Bhaskar Tanna. The registry will submit a report before the next date of hearing,” the bench ordered.The incident reportedly took place before the bench of justice Sandeep Bhatt on June 25, and the video clip was later circulated widely on social media platforms.“A video clip of the high court proceedings widely circulated in social media shows his contemptuous behaviour of talking on the phone and also having a drink in a beer mug while attending the hearing,” the division bench said.It further stated that Tanna’s “outrageous and glaring” act has immense ramifications, warning that if ignored or disregarded, it would be “destructive to the rule of law.”The court also barred the senior lawyer from making virtual appearances during the ongoing matter. The contempt hearing has been scheduled after two weeks.