Plea to live-stream Ayodhya case to be heard on Sep 16

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 11

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would take up former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya’s plea for live-streaming or recording of Ayodhya land dispute proceedings on September 16. 

“We have passed some order in chamber… It will be taken up on September 16,” a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi told senior counsel Vikas Singh after he sought a hearing of the matter on behalf of Govindacharya.

Earlier, a two-judge Bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman had on September referred Govindachrya’s plea for live-streaming proceedings to a five-judge Bench headed by CJI Gogoi, which is hearing the sensitive matter.

“Ayodhya hearing is sensitive. How can it be live streamed? We are an open court but not to outsiders. It’s open only to litigants,” Justice Nariman told Singh.

Referring to the top court’s September 26, 2018, verdict allowing live-streaming of court proceedings of cases of constitutional and national importance, Singh had said it should be allowed in Ayodhya case as well.

After Justice Nariman pointed out that the verdict excluded sensitive matters, Singh had said Ayodhya was an important matter. If live-streaming was not possible, at least audio recording or transcription of hearing should be permitted, he had submitted.