The Supreme Court on Monday asked its Registry to respond to a plea to live-stream the Ayodhya title dispute hearings.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi issued notice on the petition by activist K.N. Govindacharya, who said the hearings concerned an issue of social and constitutional gravity.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, for the Muslim side, objected to the petition, saying such a process cannot be started “mid-stream”.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh pointed out that even journalists covering the hearings in the apex court used the social media to provide live coverage. If so, the court could also live-stream the proceedings.
The Govindacharya petition reminded the Court of its own judgment of September 2018 that ordered live-streaming of hearings in momentous cases of national importance. The judgment is yet to be implemented.
The petitioner said the case “famously known as the Ayodhya Ram Mandir matter” had created large-scale interest across the country.
“The Supreme Court has already held that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Live-streaming as an extension of the principle of open courts will ensure that the interface between a court hearing with virtual reality will result in the dissemination of information in the widest possible sense, imparting transparency and accountability to the judicial process,” the petition said.
The Ayodhya case had been pending in the Court for the last nine years, and the public at large was interested in knowing the reasons behind the delay in deciding cases at the Court, it said.
