SC calls for rules to be framed on live-streaming court proceedings, says it will bring to force 'public right to know'

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allows the live-streaming of cases of Constitutional importance that take place in the court of the Chief Justice of India, stating that “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”. The apex court also directed the framing of rules to regulate the live-streaming. Live-streaming of court proceedings will effectuate the “public right to know” and bring in more transparency in judicial proceedings, the court said. The judgment was rendered by a bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkarand Justice DY Chandrachud. [caption id=“attachment_5262741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of the Supreme Court of India. AP[/caption] The apex court on 24 August had reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas related to the issue of live streaming of court proceedings. The bench had earlier said that it would pass appropriate orders after Attorney General KK Venugopal suggested that live streaming of the important cases in the Chief Justice of India’s court can be started on a pilot basis. The apex court had earlier termed the proposal of live streaming of the court proceedings as the “need of the hour”. A petition, filed by a law student, had sought a direction for setting up live streaming rooms within the apex court premises and granting access to legal interns. The plea, filed by Swapnil Tripathi, a student of National Law University in Jodhpur, had sought requisite guidelines to facilitate witnessing of the proceedings for interns. Senior advocate Indira Jaising had also filed a PIL for video-recording of proceedings in matters of national importance. Besides Jaising and Tripathi, NGO Centre For Accountability and Systemic Change, through its lawyer Virag Gupta, had also filed a PIL seeking a direction to the apex court registry and the Ministries of Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology to “video record the proceedings of all the courts and make them available to public and parties, subject to regulations”. Earlier, the Centre had said that video recording and live streaming of judicial proceedings can be undertaken on a trial basis in constitutional matters being heard by the Chief Justice of India’s court. With inputs from PTI