Is live recording of court proceedings possible, SC asks Centre

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to  respond whether a proposal to connect live recordings of proceedings in all courts and tribunals with the National Judicial Data Grid could be considered.

The court also asked the Union government to coordinate with all the high courts and tribunals in the country for adopting the Punjab and Haryana High Court's model of installing CCTV cameras in all courts in four phases.

A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and U U Lalit appreciated the steps taken by the Ministry of Justice in coordinating the implementation of the direction of the top court on August 14 for installing CCTV cameras in all courts and tribunals in a phased manner.

"However, it appears that a lot of work still remains to be done. In respect of some tribunals such as debt recovery tribunals, ITAT, CEGAT and consumer fora, even information has not been collected so far," the bench noted, after going through a report filed by Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand.

The court noted that the Punjab and Haryana High Court has prepared a comprehensive plan of action to have CCTV cameras in all courts in four phases.

"We are of the view that the proposal to connect live recordings with the National Judicial Data Grid may also require consideration," the bench said, posting the matter for further hearing on December 11.

According to a government report, the issue of installing CCTV cameras in Karnataka courts is awaiting information with regard to technical specifications, pricing etc, from the e-committee of the Supreme Court.

The court had earlier said that installing such cameras in all courts was in larger public interest and would result in discipline and security as there was no issue of privacy involved in it.