Senior Lawyer Indira Jaising Launches Online Petition Seeking Live-Streaming Of Court Cases

"I strongly believe that all citizens must be given an opportunity to understand how the law functions"

Updated on: 6 February 2018 2:45 pm

To increase awareness and bring transparency in the judicial proceedings, Senior advocate of the Supreme Court Indira Jaising on Tuesday launched an online petition demanding live-streaming of Supreme Court cases.

The case will be heard by the apex court on February 9. The aim of the online petition is to get as many signatures to strengthen her case and forward the collective demand to Ministry of Law.

"I strongly believe that all citizens must be given an opportunity to understand how the law functions," she said in the petition.

In January, Jaising had filed a writ petition in the SC seeking live streaming and video recording of "cases of national importance impacting the public at large".

Her move came days after four senior Supreme Court judges, in a unprecedented press meet, criticised the Chief Justice of India on a litany of issues, including assignment of cases to benches.

Arguing that "justice should not only be done but seen to be done", which is part of the document -- Restatement of Values of Judicial Life-- adopted by the Supreme Court in 1997, Jaising in her petition said that the provision of live streaming /video recording would enable the citizens to have first hand information of case proceedings and affect them directly or indirectly.

"Live streaming of cases of national importance would also inspire public confidence in the judiciary, and bring transparency, andaccountability in the administration of justice. Further, this would avoid the spread of misinformation, conscious disinformation, and misunderstanding of the role of the Court in these matters," said the petition.

The move will significatly contribute towards the educational role of the judiciary, she said, adding that an exception be made in the interest of privacy when hearing family law cases. "Live streaming of cases of national importance would also inspire public confidence in the judiciary, and bring transparency, and accountability in the administration of justice. Further, this would avoid the spread of misinformation, conscious disinformation, and misunderstanding of the role of the Court in these matters."

"While there is no problem with healthy criticism and criticism must be welcomed, live streaming of the arguments would encourage the understanding of the basis on which the decisions were made," Jaising wrote in the petition.