New Delhi: Terming the unregulated dissemination of recordings of court proceedings on social media as a “demon out of the bag,”
The Supreme Court has banned the posting or uploading of audio-video recordings of court proceedings on social media without prior permission of the concerned court.
“There shall be no extraction, modification, dissemination, posting, re-posting, uploading or monetisation of audio/video recordings of the judicial proceedings on social media or other digital platforms without the prior permission of the Registrar General of the concerned High Courts or the Secretary General of the Supreme Court,” the top court stated.
The interim order was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, which was hearing a PIL seeking to restrain livestreaming and video circulation of court proceedings.
Not a ‘gag order’
Justice Mohana clarified that it is not a gag order on freedom of speech, and has no effect on news reporting of court proceedings.
The PIL was filed by a journalist who contended that selective and decontextualised circulation of courtroom exchanges is undermining the dignity of courts and eroding public confidence in the justice delivery system.
“What we are stopping is video recording and uploading of video recordings. We have also said that if any livestreaming or audio-visual is to be shown, it should be with permission of the Secretary General and Registrar General of the High Court,” Justice Bagchi said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that Facebook and Instagram are full of clips where lawyers try to show what they argued.
‘Can’t stop a demon which is out of the bag’
“We cannot stop a demon which is out of the bag,” Justice Bagchi said.
The court cannot be a 24×7 entertainment channel, he added.
“We should ensure limited access and therefore restrict livestream itself. Parties must expressly make a prayer that ‘I want to see’. It cannot be a 24×7 entertainment channel.”
The court also issued notice to Meta, X and other social media intermediaries over circulation of court videos.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who appeared for the petitioner, supported livestreaming of proceedings but pointed out an incident where a petitioner threw papers at the bench and abused the CJI some time ago. Videos of the incident went viral.
“It has become a joke,” Singh said.
Backing Singh’s submission, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also spoke about the possibility of AI misuse.
“With AI tools, words of judges or lawyers can be changed and uploaded on social media,” he remarked.
CJI Kant recalled how his words have been twisted.
“In the print forum, I have already experienced it. What I never said was thrust upon me by these people,” the CJI said.