Supreme Court commences live streaming of all court proceedings

NEW DELHI — In a measure to enhance transparency and accessibility of judicial hearings to the common citizen of the country, the Supreme Court has commenced live streaming of all court proceedings on its official website.

The weblink https://appstreaming.sci.gov.in features the option to watch the proceedings live.

Till now, the apex court live-streamed proceedings of the Constitution Bench and other hearings of national importance on YouTube.

Further, it utilised artificial intelligence and natural language processing technology for live transcription of significant hearings.

Recently, the SC hearings in the NEET-UG matter and R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital suo moto case garnered huge public views.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment in the Swapnil Tripathi (2018) case, had favoured live streaming the proceedings in important cases. Thereafter, the full court decided to live-stream the proceedings of the Constitution benches to provide citizens from every nook and corner of the country to witness the top court’s proceedings.

In August last year, during the Constitution Bench hearing in “Re: Article 370 of the Constitution”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud had said the top court was setting up its own cloud software for video conferencing to enable virtual hearings in all lower courts across the country.

“In Phase III of eCourts (Project), we have a huge budget, so we are in the process of setting up our own cloud software for video conferencing,” he said.

The Chief Justice had pointed out that during the pandemic, courts across India held as many as 43 million hearings through virtual mode.

In another initiative shedding the colonial imprint and traditional attributes, under the leadership of CJI Chandrachud, who is set to demit office on November 10, the statue of Lady Justice, in the judges’ library of the Supreme Court, now holds a copy of the Indian Constitution, instead of a sword, and the blindfold has come off to leave her with open eyes. Traditionally, the blindfold suggested equality before the law, meaning that the dispensation of justice should not be influenced by the status, wealth, or power of the parties. The sword historically symbolised authority and the capacity to punish injustice.

However, the scales of justice in the right hand of Lady Justice have been retained, symbolising a societal balance and the significance of careful consideration of facts and arguments from both sides before arriving at a verdict.