A solicitor has been struck off after telling a judge he was dialling into court remotely from London – when he was actually 700 miles away in Germany.
Priyank Tanwar was found to have lied about his real location while representing a father during a one-hour hearing in a family case at Leicester County Court in August 2023.
Tanwar, a self-employed consultant for a London-based firm, was ruled to have acted dishonestly by providing misleading information to the court.
The solicitor denied the allegations, claiming it was not his intention to mislead the judge.
A tribunal heard that Tanwar told the court clerk, legal representatives for the mother in the case, an interpreter and his client that he was abroad and would be appearing remotely, the Law Gazette reports.
But when Judge Matthew O’Grady asked Tanwar where he was, he said ‘Ealing, London’. The solicitor aged he had misunderstood the judge.
Tom Walker, counsel for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, said his explanation was ‘nonsensical’, arguing that the judge’s questions clearly related to where the lawyer was at the time of the hearing.
Mr Walker said: ‘He could have not had any genuine belief that what he was being asked was where his office location was. He had ample opportunity to say where he was but he did not.’
Priyank Tanwar (pictured) was found to have lied about his real location while representing a father during a one-hour hearing in a family case at Leicester County Court in August 2023
Tanwar (pictured), a self-employed consultant for a London-based firm, was ruled to have acted dishonestly by providing misleading information to the court
Backing the regulator, the chairman of the three-person panel ruled that ‘culpability was absolute’.
The panel said Tanwar’s location was crucial to the court proceedings as they were trying to establish a stable remote connection and the process became ‘chaotic’, partially down to the solicitor’s ‘decision to attend by telephone’.
Carolyn Evans, the tribunal chairwoman, said Tanwar ‘was not being truthful’ to the judge.
Tanwar was struck off and ordered to pay £7,500 costs.
Remote court hearings have become increasingly used since the pandemic. They have divided opinion, with some lawyers saying they are more efficient, while critics argue they dehumanise the court process.