DRAFT MODEL RULES FOR LIVE-STREAMING AND RECORDING OF COURT PROCEEDINGS

DRAFT MODEL RULES FOR LIVE-STREAMING AND RECORDING OF COURT PROCEEDINGS

Subject: Governance

Context: The e-Committee of Supreme Court of India has released the Draft Model Rules for Live-Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings and has invited feedback on them.

Concept:

• The e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India along with the Department of Justice, Government of India is working under the National Policy and Action Plan for implementation of Information and Communication Technology ICT in the Indian Judiciary.
• Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud is the Supreme Court Judge and Chairperson of e-Committee.
• The right of access to justice, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution encompasses the right to access live court proceedings.

Features

• According to the draft rules, all proceedings in high courts can be telecast except for cases relating to matrimonial disputes, gender-based violence, those involving minors and “cases, which in the opinion of the Bench, may provoke enmity amongst communities likely to result in a breach of law and order”.
• “The final decision as to whether or not to allow the Live-streaming of the Proceedings or any portion thereof will be of the Bench, however, the decision of the Bench will be guided by the principle of an open and transparent judicial process. The decision of the Bench shall not be justiciable.”