Police file case against Madras HC lawyer for improper behaviour during trial

Tamil Nadu police has registered a case against a Madras High Court lawyer, R D Santhanakrishnan, who was caught canoodling with a woman during an online court proceeding

Tamil Nadu police has registered a case against a Madras High Court lawyer, R D Santhanakrishnan, who was caught canoodling with a woman during an online court proceeding.

A Madras HC bench had taken suo moto cognisance of the case on December 21 saying one of the lawyers was indulging in indecent behaviour. (ANI)

A bench of Justice PN Prakash and Justice R Hemalatha had taken suo moto cognisance of the case on December 21 saying one of their male colleagues was indulging in indecent behaviour.

“This court cannot afford to be a mute spectator and turn a Nelson’s eye when such brazen vulgarity is publicly displayed amidst Court proceedings,” the bench had said then.

While hearing the case on Thursday, officials of the CB-CID and Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Tamil Nadu police were present.

Since the video clip has been circulating on social media, police have sent communications to various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter and Google to block the circulation of the impugned video clipping and that police are pursuing the matter with the nodal officers concerned.

This was informed to the court in an action take report submitted on December 22 by Tamil Nadu’s public prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah which was signed by an officer of the CCB.

The cyber crime cell of the CB-CID in Chennai has also filed a preliminary report on December 22 which identified the man in the video as advocate Santhanakrishnan and that the name of the woman in the impugned video clipping is yet to be ascertained.

He has been booked under Sections 228 (Intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in judicial proceeding), 292(2)(a) (for circulating obscene material) and 294(a) IPC and Section 67-A of the Information Technology Act, 2008.

The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had placed Santhanakrishnan under suspension on December 21 for his indecent behaviour, pending disposal of the disciplinary proceedings initiated against him, the court said in its orders.

The court on Thursday established Santhanakrishnan as the first respondent and alleged contemnor. The court has issued a statutory notice to him and posted the case to January 20.

The Registrar of the IT-cum-Statistics department has given the court a copy of the impugned video in a CD which the court said should be kept in a sealed cover and placed before the bench on hearing dates.