Lawyers on tweeting spree to fill ‘info gaps’

NEW DELHI: Lawyers tweeting from Supreme Court courtrooms have practically circumvented the SC ban on real time reporting imposed on the media.

While those reporting proceedings are not allowed to take their phones or laptops to court rooms, lawyers have no such restrictions and have been ‘tweeting live.’

It has become a trend for young lawyers to sit upfront in courtrooms and tweet court proceedings line by line. The trend caught on while SC was hearing a plea that challenged Section 66A of the Information Technology Act which allowed police to round up anyone for objectionable social media post.

Disallowing court reporters the use of electronic devices, on the other hand, forces them to take down written notes and every time they have to report an important development, they have to rush out and look for their deposited phones. Lawyers justify live tweeting saying they are disseminating vital information to the public.

“There's demand-supply mismatch and we are filling it up,” one young lawyer said on condition of anonymity. Another trend of lawyers is to discreetly click photos although photography is banned. While things are the same even in high courts, they are more in sync with technological changes and journalisticdemands in UK and the US.