Pornographic content disrupts Delhi High Court virtual hearing; probe ordered

Proceedings before the Chief Justice’s Court of the Delhi High Court were disrupted on Wednesday after obscene pornographic content was repeatedly played during a live virtual hearing, prompting a complaint to the cyber wing of the Delhi Police.

The High Court administration has formally approached the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police, flagging a suspected cyber intrusion and seeking urgent investigation into what appears to be a serious breach of court security during virtual conferencing proceedings.

Officials said that a preliminary inquiry has been initiated to trace the source of the disruption and identify those responsible.

The incident occurred during a live hearing before a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. As the Bench had just begun taking up matters from the supplementary list, the decorum of the courtroom was shattered by an unexpected and disturbing intrusion.

According to court proceedings, an unidentified participant logged into the virtual hearing under a suspicious username resembling “Shitjeet Sighn”. Within moments, the individual took control of the screen-sharing function and began broadcasting explicit pornographic content, catching both the Bench and participants off guard.

Court staff promptly terminated the video conferencing session. However, when proceedings were restored, the same user re-entered and again displayed obscene visuals, forcing a second shutdown.

In a third attempt to resume the hearing, the intruder once again breached the system and played explicit content, triggering panic among participants. During the disruption, an unidentified voice was also heard warning that the system had been compromised and cautioning against restarting the session.

The repeated interruptions forced the court to suspend the virtual hearing for a considerable duration. When proceedings eventually resumed, strict access controls were enforced. Participants were immediately locked out of interactive functions, and both audio and video feeds from the Bench were disabled as a precautionary measure.

The episode has raised serious concerns over cybersecurity vulnerabilities in judicial virtual hearing systems, especially at a time when courts continue to rely on hybrid modes of functioning.

Legal observers noted that the incident not only disrupted judicial work but also raised questions about the sanctity and security of court proceedings conducted online.

With the complaint now lodged, the focus shifts to the cyber experts of Delhi Police’s IFSO unit, who are expected to analyse digital logs, trace IP addresses, and determine whether the breach originated domestically or involved external actors.

The High Court administration is also reviewing its virtual hearing protocols to prevent recurrence of such incidents, underscoring growing concerns over cyber interference in critical institutional processes.