Contempt Petition Against Video Recording of the Court Proceedings is Misconceived

 An advocate, Vaibhav Singh, has filed a contempt of court petition in the Delhi High Court against some people for uploading reels of Arvind Kejriwal's arguments before Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma. Firstly, this petition should not have been filed because it runs counter to transparency in the court, unless, of course, it has not been edited dishonestly. There has been a long movement for the live streaming of the court proceedings of all the courts, because in that case, the clients and general public can watch what is going on in the courts.

If the live streaming of the Parliament and assemblies can be managed, why can't the same be done for the courts? Thankfully, the Supreme Court of India made a historic decision on the live streaming of its proceedings. Every difficulty brings certain good things along with it. Thus, we find that Covid-19 brought virtual hearings for cases, which proved to be an immense blessing in disguise.

Therefore, the very filing of the contempt of court petition was misconceived. Secondly, why was the recusal by one of the judges made dramatic, when the petition should have been dismissed at the first instance, as it was nothing but publicity interest litigation?

In all fairness, the High Court should have allowed the live streaming of the proceedings, but if it did not allow, then it should have firstly enquired about the lapses by the court staff because it was next to impossible for any individual to have meticulously recorded the proceedings.  In fact, there was nothing to be concealed, but by this petition, unnecessary publicity is being given to a person who does not deserve it. The motive of the person who got it recorded and made it viral is very clear: he wanted to get the public sympathy for the wrongs done by him when he was in authority.

As they say, sunlight (transparency) is the best disinfectant and therefore, transparency should be encouraged, particularly by the constitutional courts. Moreover, live recordings are always factual, and there is no crime involved in the factual reporting, as it is the very fundamental right of every citizen to know the factual status. Hence, there is no point in giving undue publicity to any person by not dismissing the petition in limine