Supreme Court Directs Centre to Stop Misuse of Live-Streamed Court Videos

Action Demanded

The Supreme Court directed the Centre on Friday to set up a system for taking strict action against people who misuse live-streamed court hearings. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant noted that people continue to break a July 24 court order by taking clips from court proceedings for commercial use.

Earlier Orders

On July 24, the court put a complete ban on saving, editing, sharing, uploading, and making money from live-streamed or video-conferenced court hearings without permission. This order came after a public interest litigation filed by journalist Harshita Grover, who pointed out that clips were being shared out of context for sensationalism and money. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court that the ministry of electronics and information technology is preparing a response and will submit it within a week.

Legal Debate

Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that official recordings should be made available on court websites for people reporting on cases through YouTube channels and social media. The bench stated that using such clips still requires permission from the Supreme Court secretary general or the concerned high court registrar general. The court also noted it must check if the 2018 Swapnil Tripathi judgment allows unlimited use of court proceedings without judicial oversight.

Context

Live-streaming of court proceedings was introduced to make the judicial system more open and accessible to the general public. However, the sharing of short clips on social media has created new challenges regarding copyright, context, and the dignity of judicial proceedings.