A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to direct the court’s administrative side to frame rules and implement a September 26, 2018 judgment to live-stream courtroom proceedings, especially in nationally important and sensational cases.
The Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra told senior advocate Indira Jaising, who is the petitioner in the case, and Attorney General K.K. Venugopal that “there cannot be any mandamus from the judicial side of the Court. The decision has to come from the administrative side alone, there cannot be a judicial command”.
Justice Mishra said the Chief Justice of India, as the administrative head of the Supreme Court, had to take the final call on live-streaming of proceedings and the Bench cannot “compel” him.
“Can we issue a command to Parliament to do this or that? It's effect will be zero”, Justice Mishra compared the situation.
The side of the Secretary General of the Supreme Court, meanwhile, informed the Bench that action was being taken to implement the 2018 verdict.
Justice Mishra repeated, “We cannot pass any mandamus nor can we compel [SC administrative side for live-streaming of important court proceedings]”.
To this, Ms. Jaising said “very well, I will pursue the matter with the Chief Justice”.
In September 2018, the court upheld the plea for live-streaming of its proceedings, observing that the use of technology was to “virtually” expand the court beyond the four walls of the courtroom.
“Live-streaming of court proceedings has the potential of throwing up an option to the public to witness live court proceedings which, they otherwise could not have due to logistical issues and infrastructural restrictions,” Justice A.M. Khanwilkar wrote in the judgment for a three-judge Bench.
In a separate and concurring opinion, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud wrote that the live-streaming of proceedings was the true realisation of the “open court system” in which courts are accessible to all.
Justice Khanwilkar had said live-streaming should start as a pilot project in the Supreme Court for cases of national importance. Specified category of cases or cases of constitutional and national importance being argued for final hearing before the Constitution Bench may be live-streamed as a pilot project.
