No Court Clips Online Without Permission: SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday banned the publication and distribution of audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings on social media without prior permission, citing misuse of such content.
A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana passed the interim order while hearing a plea seeking restraining unauthorized use of court records.
“As an interim measure, it has been directed that audio-video recordings of judicial proceedings cannot be extracted, altered, distributed, monetized, published, rebroadcast or uploaded in any way on social media or other digital platforms, without the prior permission of the secretary general of this court or the general registrar of the high courts of justice,” the court said.
The court panel announced that the decision would not affect the reporting of news about court proceedings.
The court also issued notice to the Center and social media platforms on the petition filed by journalist Harshita Grover.
Noting that the court process should not be turned into entertainment, Bench said, “The court cannot be a 24/7 entertainment channel” and underlined that access to such materials should be regulated.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, stated that edited clips of the hearings are doing the rounds on the internet and often present a distorted picture.
Attorney General Tushar Mehta supported the need for regulation, stating that parts of the trial were taken out of context and made viral.
He also expressed concerns about the misuse of AI tools to alter or manipulate records of court proceedings.
The Chief Justice stated that he experienced his words being misquoted and said, “I experienced this in print, not on video. What I never said put pressure on me.”
The court ordered that its decision be displayed on official websites for public information and said that the issue of regulating digital dissemination of court proceedings should be taken into account.
