A proposed plan, if approved by the Full Court, will be a giant step for the judiciary which now strictly prohibits cameras and tape recorders from court chambers when hearings are in progress. [break]
Any clandestine recording inside court chambers is subject to action for contempt of court. Taking cameras and tape recorders inside court premises requires prior permission from the court administration. However, court proceedings in general are open to journalists who want to note the pleadings, court rulings and verdicts.
“We have proposed to allow television and radio to broadcast live court proceedings on issues of national importance and we are forwarding the proposal to the Full Court so as that people will know how courts function,” Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena, registrar of the Supreme Court, told myrepublica.com on Tuesday.
The Full Court is the apex policy-making body of the judiciary. It is headed by the chief justice and all Supreme Court justices are members.
Experts said that many democratic countries like India are yet to open court chambers to the electronic media for coverage of court proceedings. In the US, experts said, television and radio were allowed to film and record court proceedings in a couple of cases. But these countries in general have started to hold discussions on giving television and radio access inside court chambers for filming and recording court proceedings, said Timalsena.
“Some countries have started to open court proceedings to electronic media for filming and recording after evaluating the possible impact of media on judgments,” said advocate Madhav Basnet.
Allowing television cameras and recorders is obviously good news for broadcast journalists. But it has its own pitfalls, warned experts. “There can be a danger of trial by media when television and radio broadcast court proceedings live,” said Basnet.
Timalsena said that the new policy has been proposed as part of ongoing reforms at the judiciary. Judicial bureaucrats expect that allowing in television and radio for live coverage of court proceedings will help transparency in justice delivery besides letting people know how court proceedings are held.
The head of the judicial administration said that the proposed new policy will soon be presented before the Full Court for its approval.
This is the first time that the country´s judiciary has prepared a media policy.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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