In a first, Gujarat HC livestreams proceedings; SC to follow soon

NEW DELHI: Taking a giant step towards more openness and unleashing “the transparency revolution”, the Indian judicial system on Saturday for the first time embarked on livestreaming of its court functioning with CJI N V Ramana launching livestreaming of Gujarat HC proceedings and assuring that Supreme Court will start the same soon.
The Supreme Court had on 2018 held that live telecast of important cases would usher in greater transparency, and three years after its order a committee headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud finalised draft rules for livestreaming and recording of court proceedings.
Launching the system for livestreaming of the proceedings in Gujarat HC, Justice Ramana said judicial system had always been open as people are allowed to witness court proceedings but with livestreaming the access to justice will become a true reality, when litigants and interested parties get to witness, understand and comprehend justice dispensation first-hand.
He said that livestreaming will remove multiple incorrect notions in the minds of the public regarding the justice delivery system. Information, he said, will not be filtered by agents of transmission which vested interests sometimes use to spread misinterpretations in order to embarrass or discredit the institution.
“It is this lack of direct access which gives space for misconceptions. The formalisation of the livestreaming of court proceedings is the best cure for the aforesaid malady. Livestreaming of proceedings is crucial for dissemination of information. Through such direct access, the people can get first-hand information about the proceedings and the opinions of the judges, leaving little room for mischief,” he said.
The CJI said that judges might feel the pressure of public scrutiny due to livestreaming, which may ultimately result in a stressful environment. He, however, said “a judge must remember, even if justice commands standing up against the popular perception, he must do so out of his commitment to the oath he took under the Constitution”.
“A judge cannot be swayed by popular opinion. Yes, with increased public gaze, he might become a subject of multiple debates, that should never deter him from his duty to protect the right of one against the might of many,” he said. “We are keen to start live proceedings at least for some of the courts in the Supreme Court. We are working out the logistics and working on consensus of the full court,” the CJI said.