Live-streaming, recording of court proceedings
- Draft Rules released by the Supreme Court e-Committee for live-streaming and recording court proceedings propose a 10-minute delay in transmission and exclusion of communally sensitive cases, matters involving sexual offences and gender violence against women.
- The Rules are part of the National Policy for the implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the judiciary.
- These Rules intend to balance between access to information and concerns of privacy and confidentiality.
- Cameras would be positioned to cover five angles; the Bench, lawyers on both sides, accused and witnesses.
- A remote control device would be provided to the presiding judge on the Bench to pause or stop the Livestream at any time.
- The final decision as to whether or not to allow the live-streaming of the proceedings or any portion thereof will be of the Bench, however, the decision of the Bench will be guided by the principle of an open and transparent judicial process.
-
Personal information such as date of birth of parties, home address, identity card number, bank account information, and the personal information of related parties, such as close relatives, witnesses and other participants, will be deleted or muted during live-streaming.
-
The content of the recording would be vetted and posted, usually within three days of the conclusion of the proceedings.
-
The content would be posted on the court website or made available on digital platforms authorised by the court.
-
The rule further states that “No person/entity (including print and electronic media, and social media platforms) other than an authorised person/entity shall record, share and/or disseminate live-streamed proceedings or archival data.