In the case of Jyotsna D’souza vs. The State of Maharashtra and Ors., the Bombay High Court imposed a fine of 25,000 Rs. on the lawyer who annexed the obscene photos to the Writ Petition presented before the court. The Bench stressed upon the fact that these files go through so many channels, thereby infringing the privacy of the parties.

The bench comprising of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and SM Modak, after coming across the disputed photographs, criticised the actions of the lawyer and his lack of consideration of the right to privacy of the party. The bench observed that "No sense of proportion or discretion is exercised by the learned counsel whilst annexing the said photographs. Advocates failed to realise that these petitions are filed/placed before the Registry and get circulated through various departments, exposing the parties involved in the photographs"

The Court further added that it is the responsibility of the lawyers to exercise discretion while attaching photos containing objectionable material, which may infringe on the fundamental rights of the parties.

The ruling was made following the filing of a writ petition by the accused his wife, who was attempting to have the First Information Report and charge sheet against her husband, who had been arrested for allegedly committing rape, quashed.

The Bombay High Court fined the attorney 25,000 Rupees in addition to ordering the attorney to delete the offensive images from the files and its copy. The attorney who is fined is directed to deposited to the High Court building's second-floor Kirtikar Law Library.

Case Details:-

CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 3015 OF 2022
Jyotsna D’souza ...Petitioner
 Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Ors ...Respondents

Read the Complete Order on the following link:-

file:///C:/Users/MAA/Downloads/230800030152022_1.pdf