Legal journalists and law students approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the Allahabad High Court to urge them to start live streaming their proceedings. "[L]ive streaming/telecast of the Court hearings are now possible because of the easy availability and abundance of the requisite technology needed for the same, thereby greatly expanding the concept of ‘open Court’ which would now include within its sweep, the Court’s electronic/digital presence through live telecast/streaming," the application in the Allahabad High Court argued. MediaNama was provided with a copy of both petitions. The Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notice on Monday, Live Law reported, while the Allahabad High Court was scheduled to hear the case on Tuesday. In both petitions, the petitioners have argued that courts need to be more accessible and open to the public and to journalists and that access to proceedings is critical to the administration of justice. They cited instances of some high courts that stream their proceedings live and/or allow anyone to attend video conferences; these include the Gujarat High Court (which live streams proceedings on YouTube), the Kerala, Bombay and Madras High Courts (which allow guests on video conferences), and the Calcutta High Court (which live streamed one case in the past regarding Parsi religious rights). The petitioners asked for the creation of a media room for the facilitation of journalists, as is the case in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court does not live stream proceedings, though it has repeatedly discussed doing so. MP High Court rules…
