Supreme Court of India begins live streaming of constitution bench proceedings

The apex court may live-stream proceedings through YouTube and later host them on its server, sources had said.

New Delhi:In a first, the Supreme Court on Tuesday livestreamed proceedings before three of its Constitution benches.began livestreaming its constitution bench proceedings for the first time in history on Tuesday. The livestream is available on the government’s official platform.

The National Informatics Centre is handling the project. Sources told The Indian Express, the new system was tested on Sunday and Monday and the results were found to be satisfactory.

On August 26, proceedings before the ceremonial bench on the date of retirement of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana were livestreamed.

Significantly, on September 27, 2018, the then-CJI Dipak Misra had delivered the landmark judgement on the live telecast or webcast of important proceedings in matters of constitutional importance, saying “sunlight is the best disinfectant”.

In an unanimous decision taken at a recent full court meeting headed by the present CJI, UU Lalit, the apex court decided to livestream proceedings of all constitution bench hearings from September 27, four years after the path-breaking announcement by Justice Misra.

Incidentally, the incumbent CJI, heading a three-judge bench, had on Monday morning told a lawyer that the SC will have its own platform for livestreaming soon. The lawyer had urged the court that it should secure copyright of the proceedings if it plans to livestream on YouTube.

The apex court may livestream the proceedings through YouTube and later host them on its server, news agency PTI quoted its sources as saying. People will be able to access the proceedings on their cell phones, laptops, and computers without any hassle.

The Gulf Indians