Law Minister Sibal moots audio recordings of court proceedings; Union Cabinet to examine Judicial Appointment Commission “very soon”

Less than four weeks as Law Minister, Kapil Sibal, has announced two policy decisions which are likely to have a considerable impact on the judiciary of the country. The first proposal relates to the introduction of audio recordings of court proceedings, stating that.In other countries, proceedings of trial courts are audio-recorded but not in India…. What the judge is saying, witness is saying, cross examination is saying, how work is taking place, nobody knows although the courts are public places..Despite the fact that Sibal appears to be in favour of this move, he also admits that at the present moment, the Ministry is in talks with various High Courts. Without the support of the High Courts, Sibal concedes, introducing audio recordings will be difficult to implement. Furthermore, the article makes no mention of introducing similar provisions for audio-recording before the High Courts as well as the Supreme Court. Going by the Law Minister’s statement with respect to courts being “public places” there can be few arguments against having similar provisions in the Higher Judiciary..The very idea of recording court proceedings, either audio or audio-visual, has called for a fair bit of discussion in recent times. In March this year, litigant Dr. AK Kapoor had a virtual confrontation with a High Court judge after Kapoor tried to record the court proceedings, causing the judge to confiscate the recording device and eventually resulting in an adjournment of the matter. Likewise, another litigant Deepak Khosla, has repeatedly approached the Delhi High Court for directions to allow court proceedings to be recorded. Thus far, the High Court has avoided giving any specific orders in this regard..However with the Law Minister mooting the idea, the chances of court proceedings becoming a reality have certainly improved. Proponents of this move argue that such a move would go a long way in improving the manner in which the judiciary functions. As academician Siddharth Chauhan, who once clerked with the then Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishan, writes.A comprehensive record of the oral utterances in courtrooms is likely to improve the quality of court reporting as well as the performance of the judges themselves..The second, potentially far-reaching decision announced by the Law Minister is the likelihood of the Union Cabinet examining a proposal to do away with the collegium system of appointing judges. Sibal reportedly said that,.We do not think that the collegium system has worked to our expectations. I don’t think it even worked to the expectations of the judiciary..In this regard, Sibal is certainly not alone; his pre-decessor Ashwani Kumar had made a similar statement in March this year. In fact the collegium system has come under criticism from various bar associations including that from Punjab & Haryana as well as the Gujarat High Court.