Karnataka HC restrains media from using court proceedings’ videos

The Karnataka High Court has restrained media outlets, individuals, and social media platforms from sharing videos from the live stream of court proceedings, Livelaw reported. The court also directed YouTube, Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, to delete the videos live streamed on media channels “posted in violation of rules”. 

The order was passed by a single judge bench of Justice Hemant Chandangoudar in a petition filed by the Advocates Association Bengaluru, saying the rule and disclaimer prohibiting such videos are already in place. The advocate’s body has sought directions from the central government against outlets and individuals “illegally using” live streamed videos of court proceedings. 

The petition was filed after two video clips of Karnataka High Court Justice V Srishananda went viral on social media, in which he reportedly made gender-insensitive remarks against a woman advocate and referred to a Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru as “Pakistan”. The Supreme Court took note of the videos and directed the high court’s registrar general to submit a report. That matter will be next heard on September 25.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the court also observed that halting live-streaming of court proceedings is not a solution to the misuse of the videos. The court observed that “even judges have to be thick-skinned. I agree that lawyers morale can be affected, but the solution is not to stop live streaming. Any offence is made, you bring it to the judge’s notice”.

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