Judgment Intelligence
OtherHarshita Grover v. Union of India & Ors.
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 751 of 2026 with Writ Petition (Civil) No. 711 of 2026
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Date of Decision
- 9 October 2026
- Bench
- Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana
Final Outcome
Interim order: the Solicitor General to file a counter affidavit with a proposal within two weeks; further suggestions may be sent to his office; the interim directions of 24.07.2026 continue; listed on 30.10.2026 (paras 2-5).
Key holdings
- The interim ban of 24.07.2026 on unauthorised use of court recordings continues (para 5).
- It covers extraction, monetisation, posting, re-posting, uploading, modification, storing and hosting (para 5).
- Permission must come from the Supreme Court Secretary General or the High Court Registrar General (para 5).
- The Centre must file a comprehensive proposal within two weeks; stakeholders may send suggestions (paras 2-3).
- The matters are next listed on 30.10.2026 (para 4).
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Brief Facts
The petitions seek measures against the commercial exploitation, misrepresentation, misquoting and spreading of misleading content relating to court proceedings and their live streaming (para 1). On 24.07.2026 the Court issued interim directions on recordings of judicial proceedings, and on 31.07.2026 it asked the Union of India to formulate a proposal on the prayers in consultation with the nodal ministries (paras 1, 5). Some High Courts and interveners have since filed suggestions (para 2). A connected writ petition, W.P.(C) No. 711/2026, was heard with it.
Court's Findings
The Court directed its Registry to send soft copies of the High Courts' and interveners' suggestions to the Solicitor General, who was granted two weeks to file a counter affidavit with a proposal that takes all suggestions into account (para 2). Any other party, intervener, High Court or stakeholder may send further suggestions to the Solicitor General's office so that the Government can consider them while preparing a comprehensive draft proposal (para 3). The matters will be listed on 30.10.2026 (para 4). Meanwhile, the interim directions of 24.07.2026 continue: no one may extract, disseminate, monetise, post, re-post, upload, transmit, modify, store or host audio-video recordings of judicial proceedings on social media or any other digital platform without prior permission of the Secretary General of the Supreme Court or the Registrar General of the High Court concerned, and all social media channels must comply (para 5).
Legal Principle
Under the Supreme Court's continuing interim directions, recordings of court proceedings may not be extracted, monetised or re-posted on social media or other digital platforms without prior permission of the Supreme Court's Secretary General or the High Court's Registrar General (para 5).
