PIL Before Supreme Court Seeks Making Video Recording Of Courts Available On Demand To Litigants And Lawyers

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed by Advocate Mathews J. Nedumpara, among others, seeking to declare that the proceedings of all courts and tribunals to be video recorded and that such records to be maintained and preserved for a reasonable period of time so that access to such records would be made available as a matter of right to the litigant, lawyer and other stakeholders, particularly to prevent ill treatment of lawyers and litigants.

The Writ Petition highlights alleged incidents of humiliation and ill-treatment of lawyers by Judges. Social media regularly reflects the deep public dismay at the manner in which lawyers are addressed, and at the casual manner in which petitions are dismissed, the plea says. 

The Petition states, “Ill treatment of lawyers and litigants in Courts continue unabated. The only means to put an end to such ill treatment is to preserve the video record. And to make available to the lawyers and litigants such record as a matter of right.”

The Petition stresses that the judges often treat lawyers and litigants rudely by exemplifying that recently, a young lawyer in the Bombay High Court, collapsed in Court while being harshly reprimanded by the Court.

“In many High Courts, while the cases of junior lawyers are dismissed abruptly and without a hearing, the cases of the designated senior lawyers and juniors who are the kith and kin of judges or senior lawyers are heard for hours on end, even by discharging the rest of the board”, the Petition states.

Furthermore, the Petition emphasises that the easiest way to curb the ill treatment of lawyers and litigants is to video record the proceedings of all courts and tribunals and to maintain such records for a reasonable period of time and to make it available to the litigant/lawyer on application as a matter of right.

The Petition also highlights the allegted issue of nepotism in the legal system and submits, “The Courts have been hijacked by a few dynasties of lawyers.”

Following Prayers are made in the Writ Petition:

1. To declare that the concept of Court of record and the concept of open court and considerations of accountability and transparency in judiciary would make it imperative that the proceedings of all courts and tribunals in this country are video recorded and that such records are maintained and preserved for a reasonable period of time and that access to such records are made available as a matter of right to the litigant, lawyer and other stakeholders, particularly to prevent ill treatment of lawyers and litigants in the temples of justice;

2. To take urgent steps to ensure the video recording of the proceedings of all courts and tribunals in this country, so too, preservation and maintenance of such records for a reasonable time, maybe for a period of six months, and access to such records as a matter of right to lawyers, litigants and other stakeholders to achieve greater transparency and accountability, as also to prevent the ill treatment of lawyers and litigants;

3. To take such meaningful and urgent steps to bring an end to ill treatment of lawyers and litigants;

4. To issue appropriate directions to the authorities concerned to not impose undue restrictions on entry beyond what is necessitated by concerns of security.

The writ petition is likely to be listed before the Supreme Court in due course of time

Cause Title: Mathews J. Nedumpara V. Supreme Court of India (Diary No.  44777/2025)