New Delhi, May 13: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Thursday said that he was actively considering a proposal to live telecast proceedings of the Supreme Court. The CJI, however, said before initiating concrete steps in this regard, he would seek general consensus among his colleagues in the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice said that the media faces great challenges in reporting and journalists are largely dependent on advocates to cover court proceedings. Thus there was the request to create such a mechanism so that media could attend the hearings, he said. He was speaking at the launch of an application for granting access to virtual proceedings of the Supreme Court to media persons. Who Is Justice NV Ramana? Know All About the Supreme Court Judge Who Has Been Appointed as the 48th Chief Justice of India.
Further, he urged the media to use the technological resources responsibly as newly developed tools are sensitive and might be subject to some flaws for an initial period of time. He said the shift to holding Courts through video conferencing has not been an easy process and the judges have faced various technical issues while attempting to hold hearings and decide cases. He also added that small issues would arise, which should not be unnecessarily magnified. He requested everyone to be patient, and supportive to the technical team to ensure that online hearings work without any problem. Supreme Court Orders Release of Prisoners to Decongest Jails Amid COVID-19 Second Wave.
The CJI said that transparency is an honored principle and when it comes to the judicial process in our country the hearing of cases has always taken place in public courtrooms, with limited access to the general public. The only restrictions imposed earlier are due to space and security considerations, he said. Justice Hemant Gupt also spoke on the occasion and said that access to media to court proceedings will help to increase transparency and cautioned one should be careful in reporting.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 13, 2021 05:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).