Plea For Live Streaming/ Reporting: Allahabad High Court Directs Its Counsel To Seek Complete Instructions; Posted For Tomorrow

A Division Bench of Justices Pankaj Naqvi and Jayant Banerji directed Standing Counsel Ashish Mishra, appearing for the High Court administration, to seek complete instructions in the matter.

The development comes in a PIL filed by legal journalists Areeb Uddin Ahmed (Bar & Bench) and Sparsh Upadhyay (LiveLaw) along with three law students, seeking public access to virtual courts.

"The concept of justice, in its truest sense, would only be realized in an environment of absolute transparency (barring a few exceptional cases) in the affairs of the Indian Judiciary," the Petitioners said in their petition.

Today, after hearing arguments led by Advocate Shashwat Anand, the Bench inquired from Mishra as to what steps have been taken for compliance of Supreme Court's directions in Swapnil Tripathi & Ors. v. Supreme Court of India & Ors.

In the said case, the Top Court had decided to live-stream Court proceedings in the larger public interest. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant", a five-Judge Bench had observed.

The Division Bench ordered, "Learned Standing Counsel may seek complete instructions in the matter. Put up tomorrow i.e. on 03.06.2021 as fresh."

Many High Courts, including those at Kerala, Bombay, Gujarat and Madras have adopted 'live-streaming' of Court proceedings. Karnataka High Court recently started live-streaming proceedings on Youtube on a trial basis.

The Supreme Court has also launched a facility in its mobile app for providing links to virtual hearings to media persons.

"The fundamental right to Freedom of the Press, of the petitioners – as journalists/ mediapersons – is well-settled in the day to gain access to VC or physical hearings and report the same as they occur, as the same is an implicit aspect of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," the Petitioners have urged.

They seek establishment of dedicated Media Rooms within Court premises and sharing of VC links with journalists.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court is also seized with a similar case. Read more here and here.

Petitioners are also represented by Advocates Ankur Azad, Ashutosh Mani Tripathi and Syed Ahmed Faizan.

Case Title: Areeb Uddin Ahmed & Ors. v. Allahabad High Court & Ors.

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