Delhi High Court Vikram Bakshi vs State & Anr on 18 July, 2017 Equivalent citations: 2017 CRI. L. J. 4882, 2017 (10) SCC 800, 2017 (6) ADR 34, (2017) 3 DMC 686, (2018) 1 ALD(CRL) 128, (2017) 179 ALLINDCAS 1 (SC), (2017) 4 BOMCR(CRI) 599, (2017) 4 DLT(CRL) 105, (2017) 101 ALLCRIC 630, (2018) 1 ALL WC 51, (2017) 4 CRIMES 108, 2018 (1) SCC (CRI) 13, 243 (2017) DLT 1 (CN)(DEL), 2017 (3) GLH NOC 7 $~ * % Date of Decision: 18th July, 2017 + Crl.M.A. 10706/2017 in Crl. M.C. No. 2493/2017 VIKRAM BAKSHI .... Petitioner versus STATE & ANR ..... Respondents Advocates who appeared in this case: For the Petitioner : Mr Kirti Uppal, Sr. Adv. With Mr Rishi Sood, Adv. For the Respondents : Mr Hirein Sharma, APP for State. Mr Deepak Khosla, R2 in person. HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C. HARI SHANKAR ORDER C. HARI SHANKAR, J 1. This application, preferred by Mr Khosla/respondent no.2, prays for a direction that the proceedings of the court be video recorded or at least audio recorded or "in the lesser preferred alternative", that the entire hearing be transcribed by multiple court stenographers, at the expense of the applicant. Crl.M.A. 10706/2017 in Crl.M.C. 2493/2017 Page 1 of 35 2. Mr Khosla, who appears in person, advanced lengthy arguments on the above application, on 11th July 2017. Pursuant to conclusion of the arguments, vide order passed on the said date, the application was dismissed, for reasons to be stated separately. 3. This order proceeds to record the reasons for dismissing the aforementioned application. 4. Paras 4 to 7, and 13 to 16 of the application, which purport to set out the justification, for the prayers contained therein, read as under: "4. That it is most humbly submitted that parties resorting to wayward conduct(such as filing false affidavits, filing forged documents, etcetera), itself, is bad enough; but when the "rot" spread to counsels acting in the matter, the manner in which proceedings are conducted has to change, so that no party can claim that benevolence has been shown by the Hon‟ble Court to any erring party and/or his counsel. 5. That in the present litigation, 3 advocates have already been summoned to stand trial vide order dated 22.06.2017. In addition, in Crl. MC (Co) No. 1 of 2009, 5 advocates have been issued a notice by the Hon‟ble Delhi High Court under Section 340 of the CRPC ( for perjury), which proceedings have still not been closed; rather, the erring advocates, by refusing to the affidavits Crl.M.A. 10706/2017 in Crl.M.C. 2493/2017 Page 2 of 35 to contribute the allegations against them, have, in legal effect, accepted the charges levelled against them. 6. That under the circumstances, in order to protect the dignity and authority of this Hon‟ble Court, and, consequently, the solemnity and sanctity of the proceedings it conducts, and even if not for the aforesaid purpose, but equally, for the protection of the rights of the parties hereto, it is essentially that there be an incontrovertible record of all that is argued in Court, so that should any party and/or counsel be caught " making false claims in Court", as the offence is prosecutable, inter alia, under Section 209 of the Indian Penal Code, it is very vital that the proceedings be meticulously recorded. 7. That it is equally vital to record the proceedings on the principles that "prevention is better than cure". This argument is put forward on the from ice that in the event that the parties know that the proceedings are being recorded, everybody shall be much more circumspect in their conduct while appearing in Court, and shall refrain from making even what could be generously termed as "loose statements", much less "false claims in Court". 13. That as the Petitioner‟s deposition at para 2 of their identical affidavits filed before this Hon‟ble Court have deliberately excluded the mandatory phrase to the effect that the contents of their petition and subsequent applications are also based on the legal advice believed by him to be true, and since the affidavit, too, has undoubtedly been drafted by learned counsel, and he (learned counsel) is using the contents of the petition and th