The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday notified the “Live Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings Rules of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, 2023”.
The Rules will set up infrastructure and the framework to enable live streaming and recording of proceedings so as to imbue greater transparency, inclusivity, and foster access to justice.
Prescribing the mechanisms of relaying the proceedings the notification states that subject to any limitations, the live stream shall commence as soon as the bench assembles and instructs the court staff to start the proceedings and shall end when the bench signals its conclusion for the day. There shall be a delay of ten minutes in streaming, which may be changed as per the direction of the Court, the notification reads.
Detailing the intricacies further, the notification states that in case the judge concerned on the bench is desirous of opting out of live streaming while dictating the order/oral judgment, live streaming will be paused during that period. In such circumstances, the monitors will display a message: “Order dictation in progress”. Likewise, when the bench rises for recess or otherwise, the live streaming will be paused, and the monitor will display the message: “Court not in-session”, the notification reads.
The rules also exclude proceedings like matrimonial matters, cases related to sexual offences, gender based violence cases, POCSO matters etc. from being live-streamed.
The rules also include provisions for exercising objections against such live streaming by any of the parties by raising the same at the time of institution of the case or any later stage and the final decision as to whether to allow the live streaming of the proceedings or any portion thereof will be of the bench.
However, the decision of the bench will be guided by the principle of an open and transparent judicial process, the notification adds.
