I recently had the opportunity to take a series of depositions in India. Called into service at the last minute as a videographer, I was able to harness the resources of Planet Depos and provide a complete set of options with video recording and realtime streaming. The trip was not without challenges, but the experience and resources of Planet Depos Asia facilitated a set of five successful depositions in two cities. Here are some considerations and useful tips for scheduling and conducting depositions in this unique country:
One of the particular challenges for India is an unusual visa procedure. For many countries, it is easy to obtain a visa on arrival or schedule an appointment at an embassy/consulate for same-day issuance. However, for India, the country has outsourced all “customer service” aspects of getting a visa to a company called BLS International. This means that an extra level of processing requires more time to get a visa, as it must pass through their document screening and on to the embassy/consulate for final approval, then be sent back to BLS. Direct visa application through the embassy/consulate is available only to Indian citizens in emergency circumstances. All visa agencies, even ones that claim to offer expedited service, must pass their Indian visa requests through BLS. So, it is important to leave plenty of time for the visa application — and consider Indian holidays that might cause a delay. BLS suggests 15+ business days for obtaining a business visa.
There are many excellent business hotels in India and, when scheduling, it is important to verify the technological capabilities of the hotel. Realtime streaming or video streaming to the U.S. requires a stable internet connection, hard-wire preferred, if available, but workable on Wi-Fi. For audio, a speakerphone with the ability to make international calls is required (some phone jacks in conference rooms may be wired for hotel intercom only and require modification to make outside calls). Another option is to conduct depositions at the offices of local counsel. Similar technical considerations are necessary there, but the setting might be more comfortable.
The assistance of local co-counsel is critical for conducting depositions in India. A U.S. subpoena is obviously non-binding there. In order to have an Indian witness testify under oath, a local court order is necessary. Local counsel can assist with obtaining this order and arranging for the presence of a “commissioner” at the deposition. The commissioner, like a notary in the U.S., is authorized to administer oaths. However, he or she may also want to interject and rule on objections in the proceedings, as he or she is empowered to do so in India. A gentle reminder from co-counsel that this is not a part of U.S. procedure should be sufficient. In our series of depositions, we had the oaths administered twice — once by the commissioner, and again by the court reporter, in order to satisfy the legal requirements of both jurisdictions.
On the logistical front, India can be quite hot and humid in the summer, so prepare accordingly. Many building lobbies and corridors are not air-conditioned. Traffic can be quite bad, so leave extra time when traveling to a deposition location or to the airport. The major cities in India have an over-stressed power grid, so intermittent rolling blackouts are a possibility, but they only cause a brief interruption.
In addition to India and the work of our full-time staff in East Asia, Planet Depos has also recently completed depos in Europe and Western Africa. For those, while I was not the videographer traveling, I joined in supporting the streaming realtime and mobile videoconference connections from the U.S. side. Planet Depos conducts depositions anywhere in the world as part of our pledge to “Make It Happen.”