Rehan Khan
On 22nd October, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took strict action against a lawyer’s clerk for disrupting court proceedings by speaking loudly on his phone. The incident occurred during the hearing of an election petition challenging the Lok Sabha election of former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, who presided over the case, expressed serious concern over the clerk’s behavior. The Court directed the Bench Secretary to confiscate the clerk’s mobile phone and ordered the Court Registry to suspend his license. The clerk has also been barred from entering any courtrooms until further notice. Justice Sharma emphasized that the Registry must issue a notice to the clerk, seek his response, and pass suitable orders based on the reply. The confiscated phone, along with a letter, has been sent to the Registrar (Administration), who will determine whether to release the phone after considering the clerk’s explanation.
The case at hand involves an election petition filed by a voter from Jalandhar, who has accused Charanjit Singh Channi of concealing details about his election expenses. The petitioner alleged that Channi did not disclose expenditures related to social media campaigns and paid news, further accusing him of receiving undue coverage from local newspapers. According to the petitioner, nearly 90% of media coverage was focused solely on Channi, leaving other candidates with minimal attention. Despite these claims, the petitioner argued that no action was taken against Channi, raising concerns about the impartiality of election officials.
The Court has scheduled the next hearing for December 13 and directed Channi’s lawyer, Advocate Nikhil Ghai, to file a response to the allegations.