Guwahati, Dec 15: In a key move to implement the ‘open court’ concept, the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court began live-streaming of court proceedings from Monday to become the third constitutional court from the Northeast to live-stream its proceedings after Gauhati High Court (Principal Bench) and High Court of Meghalaya.
Being telecast on the official YouTube channel, eCourts Nagaland, the streaming will be governed by the Gauhati High Court (Live Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings) Rules, 2022.
A major push towards transparency, inclusivity and accessibility in the judicial system, the move will enable access to real time court proceedings, including matters of public interest, to the civil society, academia, law students and journalists, and help them understand the functioning of courts better.
It may be mentioned that the Gujarat High Court was the first High Court to live-stream its proceedings last year, followed by several High Courts across the nation such as Gauhati (Principal Bench), Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Patna high courts.
The Meghalaya High Court had started streaming its proceedings live on YouTube last month while the Telangana High Court decided to start live-streaming of its proceedings on a test-basis from October 10.
The initiatives to live stream Court hearings were taken pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court in Swapnil Tripathi versus Supreme Court of India (2018).
The Supreme Court has started live-streaming the proceedings of the Constitution Benches from September this year.
The court proceedings were streamed for the first time on YouTube when Justice N.V. Ramana, the former CJI, graced a ceremonial Bench on the eve of his retirement in August 2022.
The apex court is exploring the idea of even setting up a national platform for live-streaming, which can be used by the High Courts as well.