Supreme Court: Misuse of Court Videos Damaging the Institution

The Supreme Court on Friday lamented the misuse of live-streaming of court hearings for commercial gain, saying that it has caused damage to the institution of the judiciary [Harshita Grover v. Union of India & Ors].The Court observed,"You have no idea the damage caused to Bar & Bench...the institution in itself..."It eventually asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta to collate suggestions from High Courts and other stakeholders on how to tackle the issue. It ordered,"The suggestions received from the parties and other stakeholders shall also be forwarded to the office of the Solicitor General of India. Time is granted to file a counter-affidavit along with a proposal prepared after taking into consideration the suggestions received so far."A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing a plea seeking restraint on the unauthorised extraction and monetisation of videos of court proceedings.Previously, the Bench had passed an interim order prohibiting the unauthorised use or circulation of live-streamed court proceedings on social media and other digital platforms without prior permission. The Court also issued notice on the plea to all States and sought their responses. The Central government was asked to examine whether the prayers made in the plea can be implemented.It later clarified that its order regulating the use of audio and video recordings of court proceedings does not prohibit recognised news

Source: Original reporting via Bar and Bench