Supreme Court Judge Justice DY Chandrachud said on Friday that the e-committee of the apex court is in the process of finalizing its rules for live streaming of court proceedings. He further said that the Gujarat High Court has already started a pilot project. These observations were made by Justice Chandrachud during the decision held by the e-committee of the Supreme Court of India and inaugurating the new website for e-filing 3.0.
In 2018, the Supreme Court approved the concept of live-streaming of theoretically important court hearings. However, it remains to be implemented. The Gujarat High Court is the only court to live-stream the proceedings. Currently, the proceedings in the court of the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court are being streamed live on YouTube. Justice DY Chandrachud, who is also the chairman of the e-committee, said that the significance of the incident lies in the efforts of lawyers, litigants, and the court system to do end-to-end integration.
Justice Chandrachud clarified that the purpose of these initiatives is not to change the system of oral hearing but to make the services more favorable to the bar for which they exist. He shared an incident in which he received little opposition from one of Delhi’s bars and expressed apprehension that the incident would replace oral hearing with a system of virtual hearing.
Justice Chandrachud shared that one of the important initiatives undertaken by the e-Samiti was a collaborative mission with the High Court, beyond which the ownership of the project lies with the High Courts. He said that the E-Committee is acting only as a guide between the funds provided by the Government of India and their use by the High Court.
