After row over judge's Pakistan remark, Karnataka HC curbs on sharing live feed

BENGALURU: Karnataka HC Tuesday passed an interim order restraining the use and uploading of videos of court proceedings live-streamed on its YouTube channel.
Justice Hemant Chandanagoudar directed social media platforms - Facebook, X, and YouTube not to allow uploading of such videos by private entities or individuals, and to take down or delete those uploaded earlier.
The order comes days after controversial remarks by Justice V Srishananda of HC, referring to a Muslim majority area in Bengaluru as Pakistan and making objectionable comments about a woman lawyer. The video clip of his remarks had gone viral.
Taking a dim view of judge's comments, a five-judge SC bench Friday sought a report from HC. Cautioning that "we are being watched", CJI asked judges to act with restraint. SC said it would consider laying guidelines to help maintain sanctity of proceedings and insulate them from public ridicule.
Justice Srishananda had on Saturday expressed regret for his remarks in the court.
Justice Chandanagoudar, however, pointed out in his interim order that halting live-streaming of court proceedings was not a solution to prevent misuse, as contended by the petitioner, Advocates Association of Bengaluru. The judge was of the view that any violation could be brought to the notice of the court or the judge concerned for necessary action.
The association claimed that miscreants were editing live-streamed videos of court proceedings in violation of the rules, with a mischievous agenda. The petitioner said people accessing these clips were misled into forming a wrong opinion of court proceedings and judiciary, after watching them partially without proper legal knowledge.