The Kerala High Court has ruled that lawyers permitted to attend court proceedings via video conferencing do not have the right to recording and circulating those proceedings.
Court Takes Exception to Advocate’s Conduct
Justice P. Gopinath took serious note of Advocate Mathews Nedumpura’s action of recording and sharing court proceedings via WhatsApp. The court observed that such conduct prima facie amounts to contempt of court. It interferes with the administration of justice and lowers the dignity of the court.
Consequently, the court directed its registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice for consideration. This was on whether it should be taken up on the judicial side.
Advocate Claims ‘Right’ to Record Proceedings
Nedumpura contended that he had the right to record and share court proceedings. It was a part of ensuring transparency in judicial processes. He argued that open access to court proceedings is fundamental to justice.
Court Cites Rules Prohibiting Recording
Rejecting this argument, the court referred to the ‘Electronic Video Linkage Rules for Courts (Kerala), 2021. They also considered the ‘Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), Attending of Court Proceedings through Video Conferencing before the High Court of Kerala.’ Both explicitly prohibit recording court proceedings in any manner.
Observation and Direction by the Court
The court stated that they are prima facie of the opinion that the recording of proceedings of this Court. Circulating it in the manner indicated above constitute contempt of court as it amounts to interference with the administration of justice and lowers the dignity of this Court especially when the Rules of this Court prohibit recording of the proceedings of this Court. Therefore, they direct the Registry to place this judgment before Hon’ble the Chief Justice to consider whether this issue should be taken up on the judicial side by a Bench to be nominated by Hon’ble the Chief Justice. Ordered accordingly.
The court made this observation while hearing a batch of petitions filed by companies challenging SARFAESI proceedings initiated against them by various banks.
