‘There Can’t Be 24x7 Courtroom Entertainment’: Supreme Court Cracks Down On Viral Court Clips, Bars Posting Without Permission

New Delhi: In a significant move aimed at preventing the misuse of courtroom proceedings, the Supreme Court on Friday directed that no live-streamed court proceedings can be extracted, edited, posted, reposted, circulated, monetised or uploaded on social media or other digital platforms without prior permission from the Secretary General of the Supreme Court or the Registrar General of the High Court concerned.

The interim order was passed by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana while hearing a petition seeking restraint on the unauthorised extraction, dissemination and monetisation of videos of court proceedings.

No Posting Or Editing Of Court Proceedings Without Approval

The top court ordered, “There shall be no extraction, modification, dissemination, posting, reposting, uploading, monetisation, recording or review of the live-streamed proceedings of this Court on social media or any other digital platform without the prior permission of the Secretary General of the Supreme Court and the Registrar General of the High Courts."

The Supreme Court also directed the Secretary General of the Supreme Court and the Registrars General of all High Courts to prominently display the order on their respective official websites.

Order Will Not Affect News Reporting

Clarifying the scope of the directions, the Bench categorically stated that the interim order will have no bearing on legitimate news reporting.

Justice V. Mohana also emphasised during the hearing that the directions should not be construed as a gag order on the media.

"This is not a gag order on the press," Justice Mohana observed.

Notice Issued To Centre & States

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Central government and all state governments on the petition and sought their responses.

The Centre has been asked to examine whether the reliefs sought in the plea can be implemented, while High Courts have been directed to submit reports on the rules governing live-streaming of court proceedings and the status of continuous live-streaming in their jurisdictions.

Court Voices Concern Over Misuse Of Viral Clips

The Bench expressed serious concern over short, out-of-context clips of courtroom proceedings being circulated on social media.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, informed the court that videos were being edited with additional captions and misleading narratives before being widely shared online.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi warned that unrestricted circulation of courtroom videos risks turning judicial proceedings into entertainment.

"There cannot be 24x7 courtroom entertainment. That belittles the justice system," he observed.

CJI Surya Kant agreed, remarking that recent incidents have forced the judiciary to rethink the manner in which live-streamed proceedings are accessed and circulated.

AI Manipulation Raises Fresh Concerns

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also flagged the growing threat posed by artificial intelligence tools capable of altering courtroom recordings.

He cautioned that AI can change spoken words while retaining identical lip movements, making fabricated videos appear authentic.

CJI Surya Kant acknowledged similar concerns, noting that statements had previously been falsely attributed to him in written reports.

Court Suggests Guardrails For Livestream Access

The Bench indicated that it may formulate safeguards to regulate access to courtroom recordings while preserving transparency.

Justice Bagchi suggested that court proceedings could continue to be digitally archived, but public access to recordings may need to be restricted to prevent misuse.

"The link is given to lawyers and also to the public. We cannot stop the demon that is out of the bag, but we can regulate it to maintain the sanctity of our institution," Justice Bagchi observed.

The matter will now be taken up after responses are filed by the Centre, States and High Courts.

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