New Delhi, 30 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court has taken a strong view of the unauthorised use, editing and commercial exploitation of audio and video clips of its proceedings on social media platforms. The court has asked the Centre to incorporate provisions for taking action against those misusing recordings of live-streamed judicial proceedings into the proposed policy framework of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The court has also issued notices to the Centre, all states and major social media platforms, including Meta and X, seeking their responses to concerns over the misuse of courtroom recordings. It reiterated that its interim restrictions on the unauthorised extraction, circulation, modification and monetisation of such recordings would remain in force.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, issued the directions while hearing a petition filed by Harshita Grover, which raised serious concerns over the growing misuse of live-streamed court proceedings and video-conferencing recordings.

The petition argued that live-streaming had originally been introduced to promote transparency in judicial proceedings and strengthen public access to the justice delivery system. However, excerpts from court hearings are increasingly being selectively edited and circulated on social media as short-form videos, reels and YouTube Shorts, often without the necessary context.

Taking a strong view of the trend, the court observed that judicial proceedings could not be turned into a round-the-clock entertainment channel.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice also shared an instance in which one of his own statements had been misrepresented, highlighting the risks associated with selectively edited courtroom footage.

The proceedings also brought to light concerns over certain lawyers uploading clips of their arguments on social media to promote themselves and gain professional visibility. Such practices, the court observed, raised concerns about the dignity and institutional integrity of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court emphasised the need for an effective regulatory framework to prevent the unauthorised use and commercial exploitation of courtroom recordings and ensure compliance with its existing directions.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar