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Live telecast has taken Supreme Court to hearts and homes of citizens: CJI


Online streaming of proceedings has taken the Supreme Court to the hearts and homes of common citizens of the country, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Tuesday as he announced the latest initiative of the top court to make live-streaming contents available simultaneously in regional languages too. At present, transcripts of the constitution bench hearings are prepared only in English.

Visuals from proceedings of the Supreme Court streaming online. (HT Photo)

Presiding over the constitution bench on the same-sex marriage case, the CJI said that the top court administration is working on a module so that transcripts of the hearings can be prepared simultaneously in various regional languages to help people from all parts of the country understand the proceedings without language barriers.

The statement by the CJI came after senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government in the matter, mentioned that live-streaming the same-sex marriage proceedings have brought about a churning in society and people in different corners of the country are talking about the issue.

Agreeing with Dwivedi, CJI Chandrachud said, “Live-streaming of court proceedings has really taken our courts to the homes and hearts of the common citizens. And that’s how it should be because that’s part of the process.”

To this, Dwivedi alluded to the difficulties faced by those who do not understand English, which is the official language of conducting proceedings in the Supreme Court. “All debates happen in English in the Supreme Court and people living in villages or small towns cannot not understand and follow the same. Language problem in India is complex,” he lamented.

The CJI was, however, quick to respond. “You will be surprised (to know) that we are working even on that Mr Dwivedi. Even that is not lost to the Supreme Court on the administrative side. We are working on it…we are trying to use technology to ensure that live-streaming content can be simultaneously made available in other languages too,” he said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal weighed in to point out that technology now allows not only the transcripts to be made available in several languages, but the proceedings can also be heard simultaneously in different languages. Justice Hima Kohli called it the “beauty of technology”.

The Supreme Court began streaming its constitution bench proceedings online since September 2022, as the highest judiciary in the country pushed for public access and transparency.

By a judgment in September 2018, the Supreme Court had declared live telecast of court proceedings part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution, stating that it is necessary for the judiciary to move apace with technology in order to promote a greater degree of confidence in the judicial process. Subsequently, Supreme Court’s e-Committee, headed by CJI Chandrachud, came out with model guidelines to regulate live-streaming of court proceedings in India.

In February, the top court introduced live transcription of court proceedings for the first time in the country, employing artificial intelligence and high-tech tools. Announcing the measure, the CJI on February 21 said that live-transcription will help create resources and be a “great record” for the top court to have.




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