Necessary For Judges To Exercise Restraint On Remarks In The Age Of Live-Streaming & Wide Reporting: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today (August 7) highlighted the need for judges to exercise due caution while making remarks or observations in court proceedings which are now commonly livestreamed and widely covered by media. 

The Top Court made this observation while expunging the "unwarranted" remarks in the Punjab & Haryana High Court's order criticizing a stay order passed by the Top Court.

The special bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy in its order observed: 

"In an age where there is widespread reporting of the proceedings that take place in the Court, particularly in context of livestreaming, which is intended to provide access to justice to the litigants of the Court, it is all the more necessary for the judges to exercise due restraint or responsibility on the observations made in Court in the course of proceedings."

During the hearing, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta stressed that the video of Justice Sehrawat has been widely circulating which contains unwarranted remarks. SG said that the video clip makes a case for "aggravated contempt". SG said that in the video clip, the judge could be seen saying that he had declared an order of the Supreme Court "non-est" and that he wouldn't follow a stay order passed by the division bench. 

In the clip, the SG added that Justice Sehrawat could also be seen saying that his brother judges from the High Court should be sent to judicial training. 

The SG highlighted the concern over the remarks going viral in an 'era of livestreaming'. 

"...now we are in an era of live streaming. This is how it is recorded and the video is out, that is my concern" 

The special bench in its order underlined the need for judges to be cautious and responsible in making observations during court proceedings considering how it can be viewed and circulated in the age of widespread reporting and livestreaming. 

"The order of 17 July is compounded by a video which has been circulated indicating random, gratuitous and unnecessary observations by the single judge during the course of the hearing.

In an age where there is widespread reporting of the proceedings that take place in the Court, particularly in context of livestreaming, which is intended to provide access to justice to the litigants of the Court, it is all the more necessary for the judges to exercise due restrain or responsibility on the observations made in Court in the course of proceedings."

The Court stressed that making such unwarranted observations as in the present case can create elusive repercussions for the public image of the judicial mechanism at large. 

"Observations of the nature which have proliferated in the video can cause impalpable harm to the sanctity of the judicial process."  

It Is The Supremacy Of The Constitution Not The Supreme Court : Justice Roy Expresses 

In the context of the High Court's comment that the Supreme Court was presuming to be more "Supreme", Justice Hrishikesh Roy said :

"Eventually if you look at the matter in a larger perspective, even the Supreme Court is not supreme, the High Court is not supreme, the Munsiff is also not supreme. The supremacy is of the constitution. We are all below the Constitution. Our task is to interpret the constitution."

Case : In Re  Order of Punjab and Haryana High Court Order Dated 17.07.2024 and Ancillary Issues | SMW(c) 8/24