The Karnataka High Court has decided to suspend the live-streaming of its court proceedings following the recent misuse of its video conference facility. Chief Justice PB Varale announced this decision on Tuesday, December 5 in court, just before the live stream to his courtroom was abruptly stopped. Live streaming of court proceedings in all three benches of the High Court in Bengaluru, Dharwad, and Kalaburagi has been suspended.
According to The Hindu, unidentified individuals logged into the Court’s Zoom meeting platform on Monday, December 4, and played pornographic content during proceedings in approximately six court halls. The miscreants attempted a similar act on Tuesday, December 5, prompting the court’s administration to temporarily shut down the video conference and live streaming system.
"We are stopping all the live streaming. Video Conference, we are not permitting. Unfortunately, some mischief is being played, there may be something at the level of technology or some people. Don’t immediately rush to the Court Registry and make complaints on 'why our permission is not granted.' This is something unfortunate, the situation is an unprecedented situation. Otherwise, Karnataka High Court was always in favour of using technology for the public at large. But for this situation, which is unprecedented. Please cooperate, please request your colleagues not to rush to the computer team, the Registry. This is the interest of the system, the institution rather. Even if some members of the press may not be aware. Please tell them. You have to cooperate," Bar and Bench reported Chief Justice PB Varale as saying.
The Court’s administrative wing filed an FIR with the CEN (Cyber, Economics, and Narcotics) police station in Bengaluru on December 4, providing details of the breach of its video conference platform. In 2021, the High Court began live-streaming court proceedings on a trial basis, with the first live-stream made available on May 31 on the Karnataka High Court’s official YouTube page.