Recognised news outlets remain fully entitled to report on court proceedings and inform the public about judicial developments, provided they do not use audio or video recordings of the hearings, the Supreme Court has clarified.
Scope of Judicial Coverage Clarified
In a directive issued on July 31, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant addressed ongoing confusion regarding an earlier interim order dated July 24. The court specified that paragraph 11 of the July 24 order was never intended as a blanket prohibition on news coverage by established media organisations.
The bench stated that legal journalists and news outlets may continue covering court hearings and reporting judicial pronouncements, but emphasized that audio or video clips derived from court proceedings cannot be incorporated into such reporting.
Rules Governing Digital Recordings
The court highlighted that news organisations remain bound by the conditions detailed in paragraph 10 of the July 24 order. Under these interim restrictions, no party may extract, alter, distribute, monetise, or upload audio-video recordings of courtroom proceedings onto social media or digital platforms without explicit authorization.
To publish or share such media clips, news entities or individuals must obtain prior permission from either the Secretary General of the Supreme Court or the Registrar General of the relevant High Court.
Legal Challenge and Court Notices
The clarification arose within proceedings stemming from a petition filed by journalist Harshita Grover. Addressing the plea, the Supreme Court issued notices seeking responses from the central government, along with several digital and social media platforms.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing the petitioner, informed the bench that the matter raises issues of significant public importance.
