Kerala HC on Publication of Judgment: Commenting in a judgment on Friday (December 23), the Kerala High Court has said that reporting and publishing court decisions are part of freedom of expression. A bench of Justice A Muhamed Mustaqe and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen on petitions seeking enforcement of ‘right to be forgotten’ against uploading of court orders or judgments on the Internet Said that the courtroom is open to all.
The Kerala High Court (Kerala HC) said that courts cannot ignore the protection available to publishers of judgments under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution. Reporting and publishing of judgments are part of freedom of expression and cannot be taken lightly.
Kerala High Court’s comment
The High Court bench said that the recognition of the judiciary on the basis of public trust is generally not possible without the free flow of information in judicial functioning. The bench noted that often the media makes headlines of breaking news with minute-by-minute details of court proceedings, including what judges have said during proceedings in cases. The bench said, “In open justice, the courtroom should give an opportunity to the public to form an opinion about its functioning. This is the most important consideration in building public confidence.”
‘Opportunity given to the public to form opinion’
The court also said that Section 153-B of the CPC and Section 327 of the CrPC make courts a statutorily public area, where people are allowed to watch proceedings and form public opinion. The idea of keeping courtrooms open to the public is to protect the open court principle, which is a fundamental aspect of a democratic system. The public has every right to know how a judge conducted a particular case with details of parties, materials etc.
No copyright claim – High Court
The Kerala High Court bench further observed that the mere extension of the Open Court system in a digital space cannot be termed as a violation of the right to privacy in the absence of any legislation in this regard by the Parliament. Is. Open Court system is already recognized. The bench also said that the courts cannot have any copyright claim on the judgments as these are part of public record.
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