Judges should exercise restraint during court hearings in the age of live streaming: Supreme Court

In the current age of live-streaming, judges should exercise more restraint and care when making oral observations during court proceedings, the Supreme Court cautioned on Wednesday. .The top court sounded the warning in an order passed to expunge certain controversial remarks made last month by the Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice Rajbir Sehrawat.In a July 17 order, Justice Sehrawat had lamented that the Supreme Court has no role in contempt of court proceedings pending before a High Court while criticising the top court for staying a High Court order.The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the same. A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy today observed that impropriety noticed in passing such an order was compounded by oral observations made by the High Court judge, a video of which had been widely circulated. "The order dated 17 July 2024 is compounded by a video which has been circulating indicating random, gratuitous and unwarranted remarks made by Justice Rajbir Sehrawat during the course of the hearing. In an age where there is widespread reporting of every proceeding which takes place in the Court, particularly in the context of live streaming which is intended to provide access to justice to citizens, it is all the more necessary that Judges should exercise due restraint and responsibility in the observations which are made in the course of proceedings", the Supreme Court proceeded to observe..The top court initiated a suo motu case in the matter yesterday after taking note of both the High Court judge's July 17 order as well as a video of oral remarks during the High Court's hearing. During the hearing, Justice Sehrawat criticised a High Court Division Bench for passing a "rubbish order", and also informed that he had already declared a related Supreme Court order as "non-est."The Supreme Court today took a dim view of such remarks."Observations of the nature which have proliferated in the video of the proceedings of the Single Judge can cause incalculable harm to the sanctity of the judicial process. We hope and trust that circumspection shall be exercised in the future," the Court said.The Court further said that it would have issued notice to Justice Sehrawat for his remarks, but was refraining from doing so."Doing so would place the Judge in a situation of being subject to a judicial adjudication or inquiry by this Court, which we are inclined to desist from doing, at this stage. However, this Court in the exercise of its affirmative obligations as the custodian of the adjudicatory process would be failing in its duty if it were not to intervene by expunging the remarks which were made in the order dated 17 July 2024," the Court said. It, thus, proceeded to expunge Justice Sehrawat's controversial remarks from the July 17 order.The Court said that it was bound to make such an intervention, but added that it hoped it would not be forced to do so again in future. .Supreme Court expunges 'scandalous' remarks in order passed by Punjab and Haryana High Court judge.[Read judgment]