After Courtroom Ruckus, Supreme Court To Ask Party-In-Persons To Forego Live-Streaming & Video Recording If Appearing Physically

In the wake of recent instances of litigants appearing in person allegedly indulging in unruly conduct, the Supreme Court has decided that parties-in-person who opt to appear physically before the Court will have to forgo live-streaming and video recording of their appearance.

The decision was taken by the Full Court in its meeting held on July 15 while approving an amendment to the procedure governing parties appearing without legal representation.

Under the existing framework, Order IV Rule 1(c) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 requires a party-in-person to interact with the Registrar and explain why they are not engaging an advocate before their petition is processed.

The Full Court has now resolved that, during this interaction, the Registrar shall first offer the party-in-person the option of appearing through virtual mode.

If the party-in-person nevertheless insists on appearing physically before the Court, such appearance will be permitted only on the condition that there shall be no live-streaming of the proceedings and no video recording shall be allowed.

A statement from the Supreme Court administration stated :

"The Full Court resolved that during the interaction with the Registrar in terms of Order IV Rule 1(c) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, the parties-in-person shall be given an option to appear through virtual mode. However, if the parties-in-person insist to appear through physical mode only, then they shall be permitted to appear in person subject to the condition that no live-streaming shall be done and video-recording of the proceedings shall also not be permitted."

The move comes against the backdrop of concerns within the Supreme Court over the conduct of certain litigants appearing without lawyers. 

Last week, a litigant named Prabal Pratap, while appearing in person, had created a ruckus by throwing the case papers and hurling abuses at the Chief Justice of India. The videos of the incident had gone viral on social media. Last year, one advocate had tried to throw a shoe at the then Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.

Read about the other decisions of the Full Court- Supreme Court Unveils Plans For Faster Disposal Of Old Matters, Better Case Management