Bombay HC allows Registered Clerks of Advocates to carry Mobile Phones in Court

Registered Clerks of advocates who are attending court proceedings will now be able to carry mobile phones inside courtrooms of the Bombay High Court.

In a notice dated February 14, 2017 HC had prohibited use of mobile phones, cameras or any other recording devices inside courtrooms. Lawyers were the only ones exempt from this rule.

In a communication dated March 15, 2017 the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court informed the President of the Bombay Bar Association and the President of Advocates Association of Western India that their request to allow registered clerks of advocates to carry mobile phones has been accepted.

Apart from lawyers and registered clerks, court reporters have also been allowed to carry mobile phones provided they submit an undertaking.

The February 14 notice reads- “The defaulters will be liable for confiscation of such device and/ or fine as may be determined by the Court and in addition, will also be liable for an action under Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 as well as such other penal action.”

The decision to prohibit mobile phones inside courtrooms came about as a person was caught by a lawyer taking a video of the court proceedings in Chief Justice Manjula Chellur’s court, court room 52.