Ahmedabad: A day after the Gujarat High Court initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Senior Advocate Bhaskar Tanna for allegedly sipping from a beer mug and talking on the phone during a virtual court hearing on June 26, the lawyer appeared before Justice Sandeep Bhatt on Wednesday and offered an unconditional apology.

During a brief exchange in the courtroom, Tanna clarified that the 15-second video clip, which appeared to show him drinking from a beer mug, was recorded before the proceedings involving him had begun. He explained that he was merely waiting for his turn and preparing to log off when the clip was captured.

Tanna told the court, “The matter was not being heard at the time. I was about to close my computer… Yet, the clip has surfaced. I am truly sorry and had already extended an unconditional apology before the Division Bench yesterday. I repeat it here out of deep respect for the institution. Sometimes, technical errors happen.”

Responding to Tanna’s submission, Justice Bhatt acknowledged that while it didn’t appear to be intentional, such actions should not occur. “It is not in good taste… The message it sends to society is important. It should not happen again — not just in your case but in general,” he remarked.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Tanna had appeared before the Division Bench of Justice A S Supehia and Justice R T Vachhani and tendered his apology after the contempt order was issued. The Bench allowed him to submit his explanation in writing for consideration in the next hearing. DeshGujarat