From now on, audio-video recordings of court hearings cannot be circulated on social media without permission. The Supreme Court of India has issued this important interim order.
On Friday, the apex court imposed a ban on collecting, editing, circulating, re-circulating or uploading audio-video recordings of court hearings without court permission.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Suryakant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan passed the order while hearing a petition on the misuse of audio-video recordings of court proceedings.
The bench made it clear that without prior permission from the Secretary General of the Supreme Court or the Registrar General of the concerned High Court no audio-video recording of court hearings can be collected, edited, circulated, re-circulated, used for financial gain, or uploaded on social media.
However, the court also clarified that this order will not create any barrier to normal media reporting of court proceedings.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh told the court that edited clips of hearings are being made viral on social media with misleading descriptions. Such incidents are tarnishing the dignity of the judiciary and subjecting judges, lawyers and parties to unnecessary criticism.
The bench remarked, “The court cannot become a 24-hour entertainment channel.” The court further said that controlling digital information is one of the biggest challenges of the present time and regulatory measures are needed to preserve the sanctity of judicial institutions.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Central Government, also told the court that specific portions of hearing videos are being cut and circulated on social media to create an entirely different narrative. He also brought to the court’s attention the risk of videos being distorted using Artificial Intelligence.
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Central Government, several social media platforms and other concerned parties on this petition and directed them to file their replies within four weeks .
