Live streaming of Court proceedings

Background

The need for live streaming of court proceedings was highlighted during the pandemic, as courts functioned on virtual platforms and citizens had no direct access to it. In Swapnil Tripathi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court has advocated telecasting the court proceedings live in a move towards greater transparency of and in the courtroom. The chairperson of e Committee, Supreme Court of India had constituted a sub-committee to frame the Model rules of Live streaming.

The experimental live streaming of proceedings of the Chief Justice’s Court on YouTube from 26th October, 2020, which was formally launched for other Benches of the High Court on 17th July, 2021 by the then Honourable the Chief Justice of India Honourable Mr. Justice N. V. Ramana. On the same day, the High Court of Gujarat (Live Streaming of Court Proceedings) Rules, 2021 also came to be released and made effective.

Model rules of live streaming of court proceedings

These rules have been framed and circulated by e Committee, Supreme Court of India to all High Courts for better implementation of live streaming of court proceedings and are available on the website of e Committee, Supreme Court of India.

The rules cover the aspects of definitions of terms used, Hardware – Placement & Control, Requisitioning and Positioning of Human Resources, Personnel positioned in the Court, Live streaming and Recording of Proceedings, Manner of Recording of Proceedings, Storage and Access, Relay of Proceedings and Recordings, Disclaimers, Prohibitions and Restrictions, Transcription and Access, Dedicated room(s) for live streaming, etc. 

To access the Model rules, click here.

The rules and procedure for live streaming of court proceedings in individual High Courts is an administrative matter of the concerned High Court that falls within the purview of the said High Courts and the Central Government has no direct role to play in the matter.

Status of live streaming of court proceedings

All the Courts of the High Court are now equipped with microphones and speakers for the Bench as well as the Ld. advocates, facilitating easier listening for all present in the Court. This setup will gradually continue to be improved based on the experience to be gained in working with the same and the inputs /suggestions of the users. 

As on 17.07.2023, Live Streaming of court proceedings has been started in High Courts of Gujarat, Guwahati, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna and Madhya Pradesh thus allowing media and other interested persons to join the proceedings.

To access the live streaming of the court proceedings, the following links can be accessed. 

• Supreme Court of India 
• High Courts
  • Gujarat High Court
  • Guwahati High Court
  • Jharkhand High Court
  • Karnataka High Court
  • Madhya Pradesh High Court
  • Odisha High Court
  • Patna High Court

Source : eCommittee, Supreme Court of India