Gujarat High Court begins live streaming of proceedings on trial basis

The first day of live streaming saw 1,500 viewers flock to the YouTube channel. Accessible to all, this would be the first instance when court proceedings can be directly viewed by anyone.

3 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Oct 26, 2020 05:06 PM IST

A batch of petitions have challenged the constitutional validity of various sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949 .(File Photo)

The Gujarat High Court on Monday began live streaming of court proceedings, of the first court comprising the division bench led by the Chief Justice, on YouTube, on an experimental basis.

In a press release issued by the registrar general on Monday, it was elaborated that the Chief Justice, Vikram Nath, on Monday passed an order for the same. “With a view to effectuating and broadening the implementation of Open Court concept even during the virtual hearings of the Court, this High Court has already taken up on administrative side, to work out the modalities that can be adopted for giving access to anyone who wishes to watch the court proceedings live. The aspect of ensuring the smooth functioning of the benches and distraction-free virtual hearing while making open such access, are being deliberated upon,” said the release.

It is as part of this process that at the moment, proceedings of one courtroom shall be live streamed in an experimental manner. Whether to continue with or adapting this modality of live streaming, will be decided based on the outcome of this experiment.

The modality has been guided primarily by the Supreme Court’s direction in a 2017 public interest litigation for live streaming court proceedings. The HC decision also came on the behest of a public interest litigation filed by a law student of Institute of Law, Nirma University, wherein the petitioner-student had prayed for public access to hearing in light of court proceedings that had been rendered to the virtual medium.

The petitioner had also highlighted some approaches adapted by other High Courts across the country to make court hearings accessible to mediapersons and litigant parties. In July, the Gujarat HC had disposed off the PIL, noting that a committee of two judges has been formed to look into such modalities and the same is under process, with a report expected on its feasibility in the “near future”.

The Gujarat HC has been operating over the virtual medium since March 24, after physical premises were shut, taking into account the safety of all stakeholders in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in Gujarat. The first day of live streaming saw 1,500 viewers flock to the YouTube channel. Accessible to all, this would be the first instance when court proceedings can be directly viewed by anyone.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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