The Supreme Court on August 26 live streamed its proceedings for the first time, more than three years after a recommendation by the court.
Key highlights
- The proceedings of the bench headed by CJI Ramana were live streamed starting 10.30 am through a government webcast portal.
- Following the custom, Justice Ramana shared the bench with CJI-designate Justice UU Lalit.
- In a 2018 judgment, the Supreme Court held that telecast of important cases to an audience outside the courtroom would usher in greater transparency and aid accountability, but little moved till the e-committee, led by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, swung into action to realise the vision.
- In June 2021, the e-committee wrote to chief justices of all high courts in the country, seeking inputs on the draft rules for livestreaming and recording of court proceedings.
- In July 2022, Gujarat High Court became the first high court to begin live-streaming of court proceedings.
- Currently, six of the 25 high courts – Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna, and Madhya Pradesh – live-stream their proceedings on YouTube.
- In Anita kushwaha v. Pushap sudan, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has held that access to Justice is a Fundamental Right guaranteed to citizens by Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
