Gurgaon court to have video-recorded trials

February 07, 2017

After rejecting several PILs seeking video recording of court proceedings, the SC finally said that as a first step, it would like installation of CCTV cameras in one district court in each state. The experiment will be first carried out in the Gurgaon district court. The SC has asked two senior advocates to submit a report within four weeks on the feasibility of installing CCTV cameras for recording court proceedings. It asked the Gurgaon district judge to help the two lawyers make an on-the-spot study. The move is path-breaking, as the apex court had till now refused proposals for installation of cameras inside court rooms to record judicial proceedings in the three-tier justice dispensation system. The decision came about in an innocuous matrimonial case where the husband had petitioned the apex court seeking a direction for & quot audio-video recording of proceedings by the trial court to ensure fair trial to the petitioner, may be at the cost of the petitioner& quot . The court said it wanted to consider issuing directions for installation of CCTV cameras initially in one court in each state and take the matter forward on the basis of the result of this experiment. In March 2016, an online survey found that 97% of citizens wanted video recording of court hearings and were even willing to pay for recording of their cases. LocalCircles, a citizen engagement platform, conducted the survey, evoking responses from 13,000 persons -75% male and 25% female. Over 80% of participants said they were willing to pay a retrieval fee for that video if it was a paid service.

OUR TAKE

The decision of the court is reasonable as it will showcase the casual and lethargic manner in which Judges deal with important issues regarding violation of law. It will also ensure fair trial and will help in bringing more transparency in the system.