The Allahabad High Court recently pulled up an employee of the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) after he was found secretly recording court proceedings on his mobile phone [M/S Gail India Ltd v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes].Justice Shekhar B Sharaf termed such conduct by a senior executive unacceptable and refused to hear the case, which was a tax matter involving GAIL."While the matter was being heard, it has come to the notice of this Court that an employee of GAIL was recording the entire proceedings of the Court in a surreptitious manner by his mobile phone. The manner in which the gentleman, a senior executive of M/s GAIL India Limited, was recording the proceedings, without having taken prior permission from the Court, is not at all acceptable and the practice is deprecated, to say the least," the Court observed in its March 12 order.The judge proceeded to release the case as well as five other matters involving GAIL."In light of the above, I am not inclined to take up this matter and five other matters in relation to the same petitioner (STRE Nos.45 of 2024, 46 of 2024, 47 of 2024, 48 of 2024 and 49 of 2024) and the same are released," the Court ordered.The judge ordered that these matters be placed before the Chief Justice of the High Court for appropriate orders.Advocates Kartikeya Narain and Nishant Mishra appeared for the petitioner (GAIL).
TAGS: Allahabad High Court GAIL employee court proceedings mobile phone recording surreptitious manner
