Supreme Court Bars Sharing Court Hearing Videos on Social Media Without Permission
The Supreme Court says prior permission is mandatory to share hearing recordings online, but clarifies that fair and accurate news reporting will remain unaffected.
Supreme Court restricts sharing of court proceedings videos online.
The Supreme Court on Friday passed an interim order prohibiting the posting, reposting, uploading, transmission or storage of audio and video recordings of court proceedings on social media and other digital platforms without prior permission from the Supreme Court or the concerned high court.
Court, however, clarified that the order will not affect fair and accurate news reporting of judicial proceedings.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the alleged misuse of live-streamed court proceedings through the circulation of edited and clipped videos on social media.
The Bench also issued notice on the petition and sought responses from the Centre and other respondents.
What was the petition about?
The PIL sought regulation of the unauthorised extraction and circulation of audio and video recordings of court proceedings on social media and digital platforms. It alleged that clips from live-streamed hearings were being edited, taken out of context and widely disseminated online, leading to distortion of judicial proceedings.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that videos of court proceedings were being misused on social media and other digital platforms. He urged the Court to regulate the dissemination of such recordings.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta supported the need for regulation, submitting that there had to be safeguards governing the circulation of such recordings.
Interim directions
Under the interim order, audio and video recordings of court proceedings cannot be posted, reposted, uploaded or shared on social media and digital platforms without obtaining prior permission from the Supreme Court or the concerned high court.
The restriction will remain in force until further orders.
At the same time, the Supreme Court clarified that the interim order does not prohibit fair and accurate reporting of court proceedings.
Journalistic reporting of hearings can continue, with the restriction confined to the unauthorised dissemination of audio and video recordings.
Case Title: Harshita Grover v. Union of India and others
Order Date: July 24, 2026
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana