Live streaming of Supreme Court proceedings may start soon
Live streaming of Supreme Court proceedings may start soon
SOPs, model rules for live streaming being framed: Minister Rijijiu
New Delhi, March 25 (Delhi Crown): Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and model rules for live streaming of Supreme Court cases of constitutional and national importance are being framed, said the country’s Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday.
He said that under the guidance of eCommittee of the Supreme Court of India, a sub-committee was constituted for framing model rules for live streaming. The said rules have been forwarded to Computer Committee of High Courts for the feedback and suggestions, he added.
According to him, live streaming of video-conferencing of proceedings has been started in high courts of Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna and Madhya Pradesh, thus allowing media and other interested persons to join the proceedings.
The law minister informed the Lok Sabha that a Writ Petition was filed before the Apex Court, seeking declaration for permitting live streaming of its case proceedings of constitutional and national importance having an impact on the public at large and a direction to make available the necessary infrastructure for live streaming and to frame guidelines for the determination of such cases which are of constitutional and national importance.
In its Judgment in September 2018 the SC observed that it is important to re-emphasise the significance of live-streaming as an extension of the principle of open justice and open courts. And, the process of live-streaming should be subjected to carefully structured guidelines. Initially, a pilot project may be conducted for about three months by live-streaming only cases of national and constitutional importance which can be expanded in due course with availability of infrastructure.
The eCommittee of the Supreme Court has set up a Committee to draw up SOPs for live streaming of its cases. Additionally, under the guidance of its eCommittee, a sub-committee was constituted for framing model rules for live streaming.
“The said rules have been forwarded to Computer Committee of High Courts for the feedback and suggestions,” said Rijiju.
