Open Court includes virtual Court plea filed for live streaming of proceedings of High Court of Jharkhand

Open Court includes virtual court: Plea filed for live-streaming of proceedings of High Court of Jharkhand

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January 14, 20215.

That the pleas has been filed before the Jharkhand High Court seeking issuance of direction declaring that Open Court proceedings of the High Court of Jharkhand shall be live streamed in a manner that it is easily accessible to the general public at large for its audio-video viewing. Directing the Respondent No.1 representing Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court of Jharkhand to frame Rules for enabling the live streaming of Open Court proceedings of the High Court of Jharkhand and place such Rules before the full court/Rule committee for its approval under Art.225 of the Constitution.

Further, directing the Respondent No.1 representing Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court of Jharkhand to take all necessary actions required to live stream the Open Court proceedings of the High Court of Jharkhand and to make available all the necessary infrastructure required to live stream and/or audio-video record the Open Court proceedings of the High Court of Jharkhand.

Petitioner is an Ex-Defence Personnel. At present, Petitioner is a 5th year law-student as having being stuck-up in final year since last two years due to Covid-19. The petitioner has no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the subject matter of this PIL and he is filing this W.P. for the welfare and benefit of public at large.

Submissions by petitioner:

The writ petition was filed on the following grounds:

That right to seek and receive information including audio-video live streaming of the Open Court proceedings of the High Court of Jharkhand is a fundamental right guaranteed under Art. 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Reliance was placed on the judgement of SC in the case of The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GOI & Ors. Vs Cricket Association of Bengal & Ors. wherein it was held “the right to freedom of speech and expression also includes the right to educate, to inform and to entertain and also the right to be educated, informed and entertained.”

That Access to justice is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article.21 of the Constitution.

That even Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 permits the fair and accurate reporting of Open Court proceedings, as such, the concept of “Open Court” equally includes the “virtual access” to court-proceedings rather just limiting it up to the “physical access” to Courtroom. In Swapnil Tripathi Vs Supreme Court of India,  Hon’ble Supreme Court held as: “Indisputably, open trials and access to the public during hearing of cases before the Court is an accepted proposition.”

That the element of sovereignty in judicial functions of the State mandates that administration of such sovereign judicial functions must be witnessed by the general public at large rather being just confined to the four-walls of the Court-room.

On this aspect, Hon’ble Supreme Court held as follows in Swapnil Tripathi Vs Supreme Court of India:

“Legal scholars indicate that the principle of open justice encompasses several aspects that are central to the fair administration of justice and the rule of law.  Open justice comprises of several precepts: (i) The entitlement of an interested person to attend court as a spectator; (ii)The promotion of full, fair and accurate reporting of court proceedings; (iii) The duty of judges to give reasoned decisions; and (iv) Public access to judgments of courts.”

That in consonance with the underlying principle of the sovereign functions of the State, the other co-equal organs of State are already live streaming their sovereign legislative functions, as such, there is no scope for the judiciary to lack behind in terms of live streaming of its sovereign judicial functions.

Few relevant examples of such live-streaming by the other co-equal organs of the State are Lok Sabha TV on DD, Rajya Sabha TV on DD, UP Vidhan Sabha on Doordarshan Uttar Pradesh.

That being a Court of record it is imperative that the public-record of its sovereign judicial function is created word-by-word in similar manner as it is created by the other co-equal organs of the State e.g. Parliament and State legislatures.

That the law declared by the Hon’ble High Court by virtue of its constitutional position and more so specifically under Art.227 being binding upon the entire territory of the State, as such, having impact upon the every individual of the State.

That since legal profession is a sovereign judicial function, as such, the sea of its knowledge and wisdom as it is reflected through its judicial proceedings shouldn’t be kept confined to the Courtroom.

That in Swapnil Tripathi Vs Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Supreme Court has commended the Hon’ble High Courts to consider the adoption of live-streaming both in the High Courts and in the district judiciaries.

That Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat has already started live streaming of its Court proceedings on YouTube on the experimental basis and further Committee has also been constituted to work out the modalities and framing the Rules for said live-streaming of Court proceedings.