YouTube Can't Play Judge: Google Tells Delhi HC It's Powerless to Stop Court Video Leaks

Google has drawn a firm line in the Delhi High Court, telling the bench that it has no real way of catching unauthorised court recordings before they reach YouTube and that expecting it to do so misreads both the technology and the law.

The Core Problem: Recording Happens Before Google Even Enters the Picture

At the heart of Google's defence is a simple but important distinction: YouTube doesn't record anything. By the time a clip of a court hearing surfaces on the platform, someone has already filmed it independently, on a phone, laptop, or another device, well before it's ever uploaded. That gap, Google argued, puts the actual "leak" entirely outside its control. YouTube only sees the finished video after the fact, with no visibility into how, where, or by whom it was captured.

No Uniform Rulebook Makes Automated Screening Nearly Impossible

Google also flagged a practical headache that goes beyond technology: India's courts don't operate under one single, consistent policy on recording or broadcasting hearings. What's allowed in one courtroom may be restricted in another, and rules shift depending on the bench, the case, and the court itself. Without a fixed standard to measure against, Google said its systems have no consistent benchmark to apply making it virtually impossible to build a filter that could reliably tell a lawful recording from an unlawful one, let alone confirm whether a video is genuine court footage at all.

"We're Not the Judge" - Google Leans on Its Intermediary Status

Central to Google's argument is its legal position as an intermediary under Indian law. The company said platforms like YouTube aren't designed or legally required to act as independent arbiters deciding what content is lawful before it goes live. Instead, its obligations begin only once a specific video is identified by its exact URL and a court has formally ruled it unlawful. Only at that stage, Google said, does the responsibility to act and remove the content actually apply.

The Trigger: Viral Clips of Kejriwal Addressing the Court

The affidavit was filed in response to a plea by advocate Vaibhav Singh, who approached the court after clips of Arvind Kejriwal addressing a Delhi High Court bench spread rapidly across social media without authorisation. In its submission, Google noted that it had already taken action on the specific videos named in the plea confirming that those clips have since been removed or blocked from view within India.

What's Next

The case now leaves the Delhi High Court weighing a familiar but increasingly urgent question: how much responsibility should tech platforms bear in safeguarding the sanctity of court proceedings, when the leak itself happens outside their systems entirely? With live-streamed hearings becoming more common across Indian courts, this dispute could shape how far platforms like YouTube are expected to go and where the courts decide their duty should legally end.

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