Constitution bench hearings to be live-streamed from Tuesday

All Constitution bench hearings in the Supreme Court will be live-streamed from September 27. A decision to this effect was taken by the full court, comprising all judges, on Tuesday, said people in the know.

The full court meeting was presided over by Chief Justice of India U U Lalit.

As per available information, all of the judges unanimously agreed that live-streaming should commence with broadcasting constitutional cases on a regular basis. According to people quoted above, the live-streaming will be telecast on YouTube.


The cases likely to be live-streamed include challenges to the economically weaker section quota law, Maharashtra political crisis, religious practice of excommunication in the Dawoodi Bohra community, Supreme Court's power to dissolve marriages on the ground of irretrievable breakdown and the Centre's petition on enhanced compensation for victims of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

Last week, senior advocate Indira Jaising had written to the CJI and other Supreme Court judges, urging the top court to begin live-streaming proceedings of public and constitutional importance. Jaising was one of the petitioners in 2018 seeking declaration of live-streaming as part of the right to freedom of information and the right of access to justice for every citizen.