RXXXXXX Vs State of Haryana (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in the case of RXXXXXX Vs. State of Haryana, issued a stern warning to lawyers against the repeated use of mobile phones during court proceedings to answer judicial queries using online search engines or artificial intelligence (AI).
The Court expressed concern that lawyers frequently use these devices, even stalling proceedings while retrieving information that they should have prepared in advance. The High Court emphasized that professional duty requires advocates to be fully prepared for arguments before appearing in court.
Citing a similar instance where a mobile phone was seized (Ravneet Singh Sandhu @ Manveer Singh vs. UT of Chandigarh, September 19, 2025), the Court directed that the order be circulated to the President/Secretary of the High Court Bar Association. The purpose of this directive is to inform members that continued reliance on mobile phones and online tools like Google or AI platforms to answer questions in real-time will compel the Court to pass strict disciplinary orders.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT
1. Again, during the midst of hearing in the present case, mobile phone is being used by learned counsel for answering the Court query by searching the required information therein, which in fact, ought to have been collected by the learned counsel in advance to the hearing, while preparing the case for arguments.
