Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 31, 2022 at 15:10 IST
Once again, the Supreme Court Judge DY Chandrachud spoke in favour of public viewership of Judicial proceedings, saying it would provide legitimacy to the Judiciary. In his opinion, the Judges should be judged not only by the number of Cases decided but also by their Courtroom conduct.
Justice Chandrachud recently attended a virtual function of the release of the book of Prof. Balram K Gupta, “My Journey with Law and Justice”. There, Justice Chandrachud said, “Not only is it imperative that justice is done, but it should also seem to be done. Justice seems to be done only when Judicial proceedings are opened for public viewership. This not only provides legitimacy to the Judicial Institution but also furthers the democratic principle of accountability”.
He further said that although legal journalism is on the rise and reporting of judicial proceedings has gained traction, it still has its own limitations. Listing the necessity of opening Judicial proceedings for public viewership, he said that it is a mode of education for Law students, the young and the old of the Bar. Besides, unless it is done, it would not be possible for the public to understand the nature of work undertaken by the Courts.
To remind you, Supreme Court had agreed to live-stream its proceedings almost three years ago. Also, in June last year, Supreme Court’s e-Committee which is led by Justice Chandrachud came up with a draft of guidelines containing a regulatory framework for the purpose.
The draft rules envisaged the installation of cameras in the Courtroom covering at least five angles, one towards the Bench, the second and third towards the Advocates engaged in the concerned matter, the fourth towards the Accused (where applicable), and the fifth towards the Deponent/Witness, as required.