Guj HC proceedings live stream on YouTube, move gets mixed reactions from legal fraternity

For the first time ever in Indian Judicial history, the Gujarat High Court has taken a decision to live stream the entire proceedings of the Court on YouTube for all the civilians, in general, to watch it live. 

According to a statement released by Registrar General of the Gujarat High Court, the decision to live stream the entire proceedings of the Chief Justice's Court on YouTube is on an 'experimental basis' for the benefit of the members of the bar. The entire proceedings of the Court of the division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala were streamed online on the official channel of Gujarat High Court and the link of the same is also made available on the official website of the Gujarat High Court.  

According to the Registrar General's statement, the decision was taken for 'broadening the implementation of Open Court concept even during the virtual hearings of the Court'. It was further stated that 'This Court has already taken up on the administrative side, to work out the modalities that can be adopted for giving access to anyone who wishes to watch the Court proceedings in live'.  

"It is a welcome move by the Gujarat High Court. The courts should be open for all. You see that parliamentary proceedings are also streamed live on channels,  then why not the judiciary?," said Yatin Oza, President of Gujarat High Court Advocate Association (GHCAA)

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However, there were mixed reactions from senior counsels and other distinguished lawyers about this initiative. While the streaming of the Court was going on, there were several comments that were made on the judges and the entire proceedings altogether. Criticising this, several advocates claimed that there should be some steps to curb arbitrary commenting and making personal remarks on the judges.

"It is a good move but if this is happening, I will write a letter to the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and suggest that these things should be contained. That, there can be no personal remarks made against the judges," said Anand Yagnik, an advocate of Gujarat High Court. Echoing this, several other advocates also claimed that the comments uncalled for. "Honourable High Court today has taken the concept of virtual hearings to another level. However, I was pained to read certain comments on the streaming link. I believe that proper framework and guideline would come out addressing these concerns. As the live streaming of constitutional courts will open a wide spectrum of opinions also from people who are not seriously interested in the court proceedings," said Aum Kotwal, another advocate of Gujarat High Court. 

However, there were several advocates who also defended the move and stated that as long as the comments are not in the form of personal attack on the judges, they should also welcome criticism. "I don't see a problem with this initiative. The comments as long as are not a personal attack on the judges, it should be welcomed by the judges as well. As long as the comments are not being made in a way that they will be considered as contempt of court," said Bhaskar Tanna, Senior Advocate of the Gujarat High Court.

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(Image Credits- PTI)