Months after introducing live streaming of its proceedings, the Bombay High Court has clarified that such broadcasts will depend on the consent of the presiding judge. A notice issued on Monday stated that the “Judge of a court is the designated officer empowered to sanction access to copies of the live-streamed recordings.”
According to the Bombay High Court Rules for Live Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings, all live broadcasts will take place only “subject to consent of the Judge/Judges.” This effectively means that benches may choose whether or not to stream their proceedings and who may obtain access to the recordings.
The clarification comes on a day when Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai expressed concern over a morphed video that falsely depicted a shoe-throwing incident in his courtroom, underscoring growing apprehensions about the misuse of digital content from courtrooms.
The Bombay High Court began live streaming in July this year from five benches to enhance transparency and public access to judicial proceedings. While a few single-judge benches opted to stream their hearings, others chose not to.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has been live-streaming proceedings of all its courts since last year, marking a significant step in judicial openness and accessibility.
