The Bar Council of India (BCI) has instructed all State Bar Councils to prominently display on their official websites the Supreme Court’s recent interim order prohibiting the unauthorised extraction and circulation of audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings, along with the BCI’s earlier circular on digital ethics and social media conduct for advocates.
The directions follow the Supreme Court’s July 24 interim order passed by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. Hearing a public interest litigation filed by journalist Harshita Grover, the Bench restrained the extraction, editing, dissemination, reposting, uploading or monetisation of audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings on social media or other digital platforms without prior permission from the Registrar General of the concerned High Court or the Secretary General of the Supreme Court.
In a communication dated July 28 addressed to the Chairpersons and Secretaries of all State Bar Councils, the BCI said the Supreme Court’s July 24 order in Harshita Grover v. Union of India & Ors. reinforces the principles laid down in its July 17 circular governing the responsible use of recordings of court proceedings and advocates’ conduct on digital platforms.
The BCI directed that both documents be published together to ensure advocates and Bar Associations are fully aware of the legal and professional obligations governing the use of judicial proceeding recordings.
Reiterating the purpose of live-streaming, the BCI said court proceedings are broadcast to promote transparency and public legal awareness and not to facilitate the extraction, editing, clipping, sensationalisation, monetisation or distortion of courtroom exchanges through captions, memes, music, thumbnails or commentary.
Accordingly, every State Bar Council has been asked to place on the homepage of its website the Supreme Court’s July 24 order, the BCI’s July 17 circular and the implementation directions issued by the Council. These documents must remain easily accessible under a clearly identifiable heading relating to the prohibition on unauthorised use of judicial recordings and compliance with digital ethics.
The BCI also directed State Bar Councils to circulate the documents individually to every enrolled advocate and to all recognised Bar Associations within their jurisdiction. Bar Associations have been asked to upload the documents on their websites and notice boards and disseminate them through their official communication channels.
The Council clarified that merely uploading the documents online would not constitute compliance unless effective steps are taken to ensure that every advocate is informed of the directions.
The petition seeks comprehensive guidelines to regulate the use of audiovisual recordings of court proceedings, contending that selective and out-of-context circulation of courtroom exchanges undermines the dignity of courts and erodes public confidence in the justice delivery system.
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