Highlights

• The Supreme Court upheld the plea for live-streaming of its proceedings, observing that the use of technology is to “virtually” expand the court beyond the four walls of the courtroom.
• A Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud said this would help those even in distant places to witness court proceedings.
• “Live-streaming of court proceedings has the potential of throwing up an option to the public to witness proceedings which they otherwise could not have due to logistical issues and infrastructural restrictions,” Justice Khanwilkar wrote in his opinion shared by Chief Justice Misra.
• In a separate and concurring opinion, Justice Chandrachud wrote that the live-streaming would be the true realisation of the “open court system” in which courts are accessible to all.
• The court laid down several conditions, mostly in consonance with those handed over by Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal.
• The focus of the cameras in the courtroom will be directed only towards two sets of people – the judges and the arguing lawyers from the front side.
• The Supreme Court must retain copyright over the broadcasted material and have the final say in respect of the use of the coverage material.
• Reproduction, re-broadcasting, transmission, publication, re-publication, copying, storage of the original broadcast of court proceedings should be prohibited, the Bench said.

The Hindu