The Gujarat High Court is the first High Court in the country to broadcast all court proceedings live. The proceedings of 18 courtrooms of Gujarat High Court are being telecasted live from Monday. Now, junior advocates, including the petitioners, journalists, and general public can watch all the proceedings on the YouTube channel of Gujarat High Court. The public will now be able to know how the proceedings are conducted in the court.
The live broadcast of all court proceedings was inaugurated on Sunday by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana. He said that this would strengthen people’s faith in the justice process and maintain transparency.
In a statement on the issue, Gujarat High Court Registrar Ashok Ukrani said that the first court proceedings have been available online since 26 October 2020. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Swapnil Tripathi vs Supreme Court for open court. In this regard, Gujarat High Court has become the first High Court in the country to broadcast the bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath live. So far, the Gujarat High Court YouTube channel has received 48 lakh views. Live streaming will continue even when the physical court starts. Citizens will be able to see and hear all the proceedings, arguments, and judgments of the court while sitting at their homes.
A total of 80 to 90 people were watching each courtroom live during the launch. The subscribers of Gujarat High Court’s YouTube channel have also increased. However, people prefer to watch a hearing of a matter like a PIL live in which if there is a hearing of a case of students or any religious matter, the live viewers are going to reach 3,000 to 4,000 at least.
The Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court started hearing the cases before him live on YouTube on an experimental basis from 26 October 2020.