Video recording of court hearings mandatory in Atrocities Act cases: Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ruled that all proceedings including judicial hearings of cases related to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act must be video recorded.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice S V Kotwal held that section 15A (10), which states that all proceedings related to offences under the Act shall be video recorded, would apply to judicial proceedings too.

"We are inclined to hold that Section 15A(10) of the Atrocities Act is mandatory and not directory," the court said.

In August 2019, Justice Sadhana Jadhav of the HC had referred the matter to a division bench for deciding how the term 'proceedings' should be construed.

The issue came up during the hearing on bail pleas of three doctors -- Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal -- accused of abetting the suicide of their junior, Dr Payal Tadvi, in 2019.

'It would be necessary to video record any proceeding relating to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act even though the proceedings are held in open court,' the division bench said on Wednesday, adding that it would also ensure public accountability.

'This will ensure that victims and witnesses have adequate briefing on the case and preparation for trial. The information would be available to the organizations and individuals who are providing legal aid to the victim and their dependents,' the bench said.

In many cases, the victims may not be fully aware of the legal procedures or their implications, and the video recording would be of use to those who can help victims understand the nature of proceedings and the facts and legal aspects of the case, it added.

The bench, however, noted that not all courts in the state have the video recording facility, and it was the duty of the government to provide it.

The onus was on the state government to take necessary measures for the effective implementation of the Act, the judges said.

'Therefore, we direct the State Government to provide the facility of video recording in all the Courts in the State of Maharashtra wherever the proceedings under the Atrocities Act are to be taken up. This shall be done at the earliest,' the ruling said.

Until then, the courts where these facilities are lacking may proceed without video recording, especially 'when the personal liberty of an accused is at stake', the HC added.