Context: As per a statement by a judge of Supreme Court, the live-streaming of court proceedings will be a reality soon.

• The e-committee for the purpose is on the verge of finalising rules for live streaming of court proceedings.

Rationale of the virtual court system is:

• To show the flexibility of the Indian judicial system.
• To ensure that access to justice is not denied even during the hardest times.
• It does not want to replace physical courts.

In the Swapnil Tripathi v Supreme Court of India (2018), the Supreme Court ruled in favour of opening up the apex court through live-streaming.

• It held that the live streaming proceedings is part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Advantages of live court proceeding

• Promote accountability, good governance and transparency in judicial proceedings.
• Promote the concept of open courts.
• Benefit lawyers, litigants as well as students.
• Educate common people about judiciary functions and functionaries.
• Address the challenge of fake news or faulty reporting.
• Reduce the cost of accessing justice, travelling esp. for the poor and divyang population.
• May speed up judicial proceedings.
• Allow citizens to share constructive criticism thus improving judicial functioning and processes.

Disadvantages

• May violate Right to Privacy for matters such as family disputes, divorce etc.
• Unnecessarily increase public scrutiny on the actions of individual judges and lawyers.
• Possible technical issues.
• Risk of judicial populism.