Supreme Court Restricts Sharing of Hearing Videos
The Supreme Court has issued an interim order restricting the unauthorised sharing of audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings across social media and other digital platforms.
Supreme Court Restricts Court Video Sharing
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana prohibited the extraction, modification, dissemination, posting, reposting, uploading and monetisation of recordings of court proceedings without prior permission.
Permission must be obtained from the Supreme Court Secretary General for apex court proceedings or the Registrar General of the jurisdictional High Court for proceedings before High Courts.
The restriction applies to audio-video recordings, including material obtained from official live-streamed hearings. It does not prevent journalists from reporting court proceedings through written or broadcast news coverage.
Order Targets Misuse of Court Proceedings
The interim direction was passed while the court considered a petition raising concerns over clips from judicial proceedings being edited, misrepresented and circulated on social media.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted the alleged misuse of live-streamed hearings across digital platforms. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed that a regulatory framework was required.
Selective and edited courtroom clips have increasingly appeared as short videos, memes and promotional content, sometimes presenting judicial observations without their complete legal context.
Centre Asked to Respond
The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and other stakeholders on the petition. The interim restriction will remain applicable while the court examines the broader issue and considers permanent regulatory measures.
The order does not end official live-streaming of eligible judicial proceedings. It instead controls the reproduction and redistribution of recordings outside authorised court channels.
Several High Courts already prohibit unauthorised recording, reproduction or publication of live-streamed proceedings under their respective rules.
