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On July 7, 2022, the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association (GHAA) approached the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, Aravind Kumar to take suo motu cognisance of the livestreaming videos being used by people on social media and sought to send contempt notices to those found accountable for the violation of the livestreaming rules.
The letter addressed by GHAA President Asim Pandya states that Association has been receiving 4 – 5 complaints on a daily basis where the clippings of HC’s live streaming have been uploaded on YouTube and other video streaming platforms such as Instagram and Facebook and in most of the cases, the clippings have been taken out of context and uploaded with highly inappropriate ‘tag line’ with ‘#’ (Hash Tags), reported LiveLaw.
According to rule 5 of the Gujarat High Court (Live Streaming of Court Proceedings) Rules, 2021, the high court shall hold copyright over live streamed feed and videos prohibiting any unauthorised copying of the live feed/videos, the advocates’ body has reportedly stated.
As per the letter by Pandya, Rule 4 of the HC Live Streaming Rules, which mandates that there are certain cases that should not be live-streamed such as:
- Cases involving matrimonial disputes
- Cases of offences of sexual assault and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012,and
- Cases involving children and juveniles
However, they are being live-streamed and used without any authorisation by various persons for various reasons.
It has further been suggested in the letter that the live-streaming of cases may contain the disclaimer regarding the applicability of the Live-Streaming Rules, 2021.
As per GHAA, such livestreaming violates fundamental rights including right to privacy and right to be forgotten. Therefore, GHAA has sought necessary directions to be issued that requires compliance with Rule 4.
According to the Times of India, the Gujarat High Court was the first court in the country to start live-streaming of court proceedings in 2020.
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