Transparency vital in Indian Judiciary! PIL filed at Allahabad HC for live streaming of court proceedings

Lucknow, May 17:  Legal journalists Areeb Uddin Ahmed and Sparsh Upadhyay have filed a PIL at the Allahabad High Court, in order to seek permission for Live-streaming and Live-reporting of Court proceedings across the state of Uttar Pradesh. The PIL includes proceeding in all the courts, including High Courts, Subordinate Courts as well as Tribunals.

 

 

 

Legal journalists Areeb Uddin Ahmed and Sparsh Upadhyay along with three law students have filed the PIL, stating that access to Court proceedings has been extremely restricted for legal journalists and law students due to virtual hearings being conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The petition reads, "The fundamental right to Freedom of the Press, of the petitioners – as journalists/ media persons – 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 plea states that "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." It is submitted that a High-Powered Committee, headed by a sitting or retired High Court Judge and comprising of all relevant stakeholders and a panel of experts may be constituted, to work out and provide for the appropriate modalities for Live Streaming of Court proceedings and to facilitate easy access of Journalists, desirably within 4 weeks.