Calcutta High Court Live Streams Chief Justice Court's Proceedings

The Calcutta High Court has started live streaming of the proceedings of the Chief Justice’s Court for public viewing at its official website and on YouTube channel from today.

This step is in consonance with the guidelines formulated by the Supreme Court in the case Swapnil Tripathi v. Supreme Court of India Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1232 of 2017 where the Apex Court Opined:

“Slow as we have been to adapt to the complexities of our age, it is nonetheless necessary for the judiciary to move apace with technology. By embracing technology, we would only promote a greater degree of confidence in the judicial process. Hence, the Chief Justices of the High Courts should be commended to consider the adoption of live-streaming both in the High Courts and in the district judiciaries in phases, commensurate with available resources and technical support. The High Courts would have to determine the modalities for doing so by framing appropriate rules.”

The Calcutta High Court had earlier allowed the live streaming of hearing in a case which sought entry of children born to Parsi women and non-Parsi men into a fire temple, a Zoroastrian place of worship, in the city.

In the said case, the permission for live streaming was sought by Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Calcutta (PZAC) lawyer Phiroze Edulji on the ground the hearings in the case were of utmost importance to all Parsis in the country and that they would be benefitted from the outcome of the matter.

This historic step to live stream hearings will enable public to witness Chief Justice’s bench proceedings virtually and enhance the accountability of the judicial system as well as access to justice.

However, the rules and notification regarding live streaming are yet to be notified by the Calcutta High Court.

Link to the live streaming of Chief Justice Court, Calcutta High Court, April 03, 2023