29 Nov Livestreaming of Court Proceedings Judiciary in India By LevelUp_Admin1 0 Comments 1434 Views Livestreaming of Court Proceedings November 29, 2023 < General Studies Home Page Content Significance Skeptics The Supreme Court in Swapnil Tripathi vs Supreme Court of India (2018) had ruled in favor of opening up the
The Supreme Court in Swapnil Tripathi vs Supreme Court of India (2018) had ruled in favor of opening up the apex court through live-streaming.
It held that live streaming proceedings is part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution. However, the judgment has remained unimplemented.
As of July 2023, seven High Courts in India (Gujarat, Guwahati, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna and MP) have initiated live streaming of the court proceedings. It is available on the website of e-committee of the Supreme Court.
Significance:
An extension of the principle of open court and open justice.
Increased transparency in the court proceedings
Increases accountability and responsibility of lawyers – They can’t make any excuse to the client or lie about whether they were present [for the hearing] or not.
Help academics, lawyers and law students who study and research the law.
Important step in maintaining archives of courtroom proceedings.
Skeptics:
They argue that live-streaming proceedings will lead judges and lawyers to appeal to populism and hampering of legal process.
Also puts judges under pressure – for e.g., “now the judges are constantly worried if something is said in lighter vein, it might be construed otherwise”.
Security Issues – Judges, lawyers handling politically sensitive cases may face issues. National security matters being discussed and telecasted in courts may become an issue.
