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Plea seeking live streaming of open court proceedings filed in Jharkhand High Court
Given the online operation of courts due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift to an online mode of proceedings, access to open courts by the general public has become impossible. A petition seeking live streaming of open court proceedings was filed in the Jharkhand High Court by a law student, Dilip Kumar.
The petition stated that the online mode of open court proceedings is inaccessible to the general public including students, media, and litigants, violating their right to receive information and right to access justice as provided by Article 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Indian Constitution respectively. It was submitted that in the interest of increasing legal awareness and educational purposes for students aspiring to enter the field of law, a live stream of the proceedings must be initiated. The petitioner cited the case of Swapnil Tripathi v. Supreme Court of India [(2018) 10 S.C.C. 628] where it was observed that in the interest of “disseminating knowledge of judicial proceedings,” and providing wider access to the legal system, it is crucial that live- streaming of the court proceedings be conducted. It was also stated in the case that live streaming of the proceeding is merely furtherance of the concept of an open court.
Further, the petitioner made reference to other state organs like the Lok-Sabha and the Rajya Shabha and other courts of the country that have already begun or are considering implementing live streaming of judicial proceedings. Reference was made to the Gujarat High Court which initiated its live streaming on 26th October 2020, for which a committee was instituted for working out the modalities and framing rules to govern the live-streaming of the proceedings.
Hence, the petitioner prayed for an order directing the courts of Jharkhand to carry out a live stream of the open court proceedings and to form and issue the necessary rules and equipment needed for the same.
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