High Court sentences man for sitting on toilet during court proceedings

AHMEDABAD: The court has sentenced Samad Abdul Rehman Shah, who participated in court proceedings through video conferencing while sitting on the toilet. The Gujarat High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The decision was taken by a division bench comprising Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani. The bench also stated that on June 20, Samad Abdul, who participated in the proceedings of Justice Nirzar S Desai, was seen sitting on the toilet seat.

"The contemnor has admitted to his conduct during the live-streaming proceedings and submitted that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. Thus, at this stage, we direct the contemnor to deposit the amount of Rs 1 lakh before the registry of this court by the next date of hearing," the court ordered.

Video footage of Samad Abdul participating in court proceedings in this way was widely circulated on social media. The court has asked the Surat native, who appeared in person in court on Monday, to deposit Rs 1 lakh before the next hearing. Samad Abdul, who logged into the Zoom meeting as Samad Battery, sat on the toilet and participated in the proceedings.

Samad Abdul, who reached the toilet with Bluetooth headphones in his ear, conveniently participated in the court proceedings by placing his phone camera at a wide angle.