Uninvited attendee in undergarments disrupts virtual court hearing

Courtrooms are usually places of discipline, silence and order, but a Delhi court found itself dealing with a most unusual attendee — someone who logged into the virtual hearing in

his undergarments, smoking a cigarette, consuming alcohol and refusing to leave even after repeated warnings.

The accused, identified as Mohammad Imran (32), was arrested.

On September 16 and 17, a man using the name Akib Akhlak disrupted the proceedings by appearing in his undergarments while smoking and consuming alcohol in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Anshul Singhal at Tis Hazari Courts.

The behaviour shocked the court staff, who lodged a complaint with the police. A case was registered at the Cyber North police station on September 22.

According to the police, the accused used fake email IDs and VPN to join the court proceedings, complicating tracking efforts.

Based on the local intelligence, the police traced the accused to his residence in the Chaman park area of New Mutstafabad, Delhi, and arrested him, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia.

During questioning, Imran admitted that he had learned about the WebEx videoconferencing platform from an acquaintance outside the court. Out of curiosity, he started joining court hearings unrelated to him and disrupted proceedings on several occasions, the DCP mentioned.

The police said Imran is a known history-sheeter of the Dayalpur police station with over 50 previous cases of robbery, snatching and arms offences registered against him.

A school dropout and former AC mechanic, Imran turned to crime allegedly to fund his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

After being released from jail in September 2021, he resumed criminal activities.