JOIN USCJI actively considering live telecast of Supreme Court proceedings
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Thursday said he was “actively” considering the proposal to live telecast the proceedings of the Supreme Court by seeking consensus among the judges.
“Transparency is a time-honored principle when it comes to the judicial process in our country. Hearing of cases have always taken place in public courtrooms, with access being allowed not only to the lawyers and the litigants in a particular case, but also to the general public," he said.
The CJI was speaking at the launch of mobile application to grant access of virtual proceedings of the top court to the media persons.
He noted that access to the public is important, as court rulings, and more particularly of the Supreme Court, did have a bearing on the lives of people throughout the country.
“The role of the media assumes importance in the process of disseminating information. Unfortunately, when Covid-19 struck, the systems which were earlier in place could no longer be relied upon. The judicial system has had to adapt quickly, in order to ensure that justice dispensation does not stop in the country," Justice Ramana said.
Notably, the top court had in 'Swapnil Tripathi' (2018) favoured adopting live streaming of important cases.
Recalling his brief stint as a journalist, the CJI said, "That time we did not have car or bikes. We used to travel on bus as we were directed not to avail conveyance of organisers of the event.”
Justice Ramana also said another feature on the official website and mobile application of the top court would be added to provide summary of important cases for quick understanding of the judgements.
“This new feature, called “Indicative Notes” is aimed at providing concise summaries of landmark judgments in an easy-to-understand format. This will serve as a useful resource for media persons and the general public who wish to be better informed about the rulings of the Court. Thanks are due to my predecessor Justice Bobde for initiating this," he said.
He cited that small issues are bound to arise, which should not be unnecessarily magnified.
“I request everyone to be patient, to be encouraging and supportive to the technical team to ensure that the application works without any problems. I hope that everyone gives the system the requisite time to evolve and expand," he added.
Pointing out the tough time faced by staff of the top court, he said, “Till date, approximately 800 Registry staff have tested positive of Covid-19. Six of our Registrars and 10 Additional Registrars have tested positive at different times. Unfortunately, we lost three of our officials. As per the data available, 2,768 judicial officers and 106 Judges of the High Court have tested positive. We are yet to receive the data from two major High Courts. 34 Judicial Officers and three judges of the High Court have lost their life, battling this pandemic."
Justice D Y Chandrachud, who is head of top court’s e-committee, said "We hope that this facility which CJI unveils will keep you all safe. Journalists are exposed so much to outside world.”
Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice Hemant Gupta also spoke on the occasion.