Misuse Of Court Live-Stream: Madhya Pradesh High Court Directs YouTube, Instagram To Block Offending URLs

While hearing a PIL alleging misuse of live-streamed court proceedings through reels, clips and memes, the Madhya Pradesh High Court, on Monday (January 12), directed the concerned platforms, YouTube and Instagram, to block access to the offending URLs within 48 hours. The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf directed; "By IA 24384/2025, the petitioner has placed on record the URLs of the offending videos of Instagram and YouTube. The concerned respondents are directed to block access to the said URLs in 48 hours from today".The public interest litigation was filed by advocate Arihant Tiwari, who contended that the facility of live streaming of court proceedings was being 'misused by several private entities' to create short videos, reels and memes. According to the petitioner, such content portrays the legal fraternity in a derogatory and wrongful manner.It was argued that selective clipping and sensational presentation of court proceedings undermines and dignity of the judicial process and misrepresents the context of judicial observations. The petitioner also relied on the High Court's decision in Vijay Bajaj v Union of India, wherein the court had earlier restrained individuals and entities from editing, morphing or illegally using the court's live-streamed content in any form, in line with Rule 11(b) of Madhya Pradesh Live Streaming and Recording Rules for Court Proceedings, 2021.Despite these safeguards, the petitioner claimed that the short videos, clippings and other recordings of criminal proceedings continued to be uploaded on platforms such as YouTube in violation of the rules.As an interim measure, the court had directed its Registry to stop the live streaming of all Benches hearing criminal matters until the next date of hearing.In the previous hearing, the petitioner sought a writ of mandamus to prevent future uploads of such content. However, the bench declines the request, observing the practical limitations of enforcing such a prohibition. It was orally remarked, "Show that offending video, if there are repeated offensive videos being put by some channels, then we can request them to try blocking their accounts. But then somebody can open a new account, you still can't prevent it. It is an automated system".In today's hearing, the petitioner submitted a specific list of offending URLs hosted by Instagram and YouTube. Taking note of the submission, the court issued a direction to the said platforms to block access to the said URLs within 48 hours of the order. The matter was listed for further hearing on March 24, 2026. Case Title: Arihant Tiwari v Union of India (WP No. 36619 of 2025)For Petitioner: Advocate Arihant TiwariFor Meta: Senior Advocate Mukul RohatgiFor Union: Deputy Solicitor General S.M. GuruFor High Court: Advocate Sandeep Shukla

Misuse Of Court Live-Stream: Madhya Pradesh High Court Directs YouTube, Instagram To Block Offending URLs

Jayanti Pahwa

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