The Allahabad High Court recently declined to issue any directions on the judicial side to start the live streaming of court hearings [Raj Vikram Singh v. Honble Registrar General Honble High Court Judicature Lko And Another]..The Division Bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Ajai Kumar Srivastava indicated that the administrative side of the Court has been taking steps to link the court proceedings, particularly in important matters, with digital media. “As soon as the system is adequately equipped to carry out the objectives of the live-streaming of Court proceedings as per the formulated scheme, if any, the same may be implemented leaving no room for objection from any quarters,” the Court added in an order passed on March 26..It, therefore, disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Raj Vikram Singh, who called for the live streaming of court proceedings in accordance with the model rules framed by the Supreme Court as soon as possible.The Court reasoned that no effort whatsoever appeared to have been made by the petitioner to find out about the status of any proposal on the administrative side regarding the live streaming of court hearings. The Court concluded that no need for it to interfere in this matter on the judicial side under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. “That being the position, we hope that the system in place will take adequate care to implement the guidelines as may be applicable to make the working conditions more transparent and user-friendly,” it added.The petitioner, Raj Vikram Singh, appeared in person. Advocate Gaurav Mehrotra represented the High Court (administrative side). .We hope that the system in place will take adequate care to implement the guidelines as may be applicable to make the working conditions more transparent and user-friendlyAllahabad High Court on plea for live streaming court proceedings.Many High Courts, including those of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Calcutta, Karnataka and Telangana, livestream proceedings of many benches. Some High Courts, like the Delhi High Court, also allow unrestricted access to their videoconferencing links for people to watch the proceedings in real time.The Supreme Court e-Committee, in 2021, released draft rules for live streaming and recording of court proceedings. In 2018, the top court paved the way for the live streaming of cases, particularly the Constitutional Bench matters, through its judgment in the case of Swapnil Tripathi v. Supreme Court of India.“Live-streaming of proceedings is crucial to the dissemination of knowledge about judicial proceedings and granting full access to justice to the litigant. Access to justice can never be complete without the litigant being able to see, hear and understand the course of proceedings first hand. Apart from this, live-streaming is an important facet of a responsive judiciary which accepts and acknowledges that it is accountable to the concerns of those who seek justice,” the apex court had observed then. .[Read High Court order]
