I am not asking for the right to record the proceedings in which I appear as counsel. All I ask is that the Court preserve the records and furnish the audio or video recordings to me, as well as to other lawyers and litigants.

In our system, judges enjoy tyrannical powers. The Bar offers no check on this, as it is filled with sycophants who vie with one another to please the Bench. Sycophancy is the greatest advocacy today.

If there is even the slightest hint of dissent, judges crush it using the power of contempt. Even if you make an unassailable legal contention—one that cannot be refuted—it is seldom recorded. If it is recorded, it is often ignored. In such a scenario, there is absolutely no transparency or accountability in our courts. There is no forum to seek redress if you are ill-treated or denied justice by a judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court. If you raise your voice, you will be hauled up for contempt.

The only true assurance of justice is the mandatory video recording and live-streaming of court proceedings, alongside the preservation of and public access to such records. Litigants and lawyers have a right to access such records as an integral part of transparency.

In India, except for Constitution Bench hearings in the Supreme Court, the proceedings are not preserved. I am not suggesting that litigants or lawyers be allowed to record proceedings on their own. What is needed is that the Court itself record, preserve, and make these proceedings available to the public, except in in-camera matters.

This is not a battle against individual judges; it is a fight for the public’s right to know what transpires inside the courtroom. Every right-thinking judge, lawyer, and citizen must stand up for this.

We must step forward because our political institutions have failed us. Politicians across the spectrum—from the Prime Minister to the Opposition—are afraid to speak out against judicial misconduct or demand meaningful judicial reforms. They are terrified of the judiciary because of their own vulnerabilities. However, even corrupt politicians are accountable to the electorate and can be voted out, whereas the judiciary remains untouchable. Justice Verma’s case is the classic example.

The voice of the people is the voice of God. The public should demand that court proceedings be open to all as a baseline of transparency.

I began campaigning for the video recording and live-streaming of court proceedings in 2010. Despite my repeated petitions being rejected, a judgment favouring this cause was eventually rendered in the Swapnil Tripathi case. I do not care about personal credit; I care only about the outcome. Without complete transparency, there can be no assurance of justice. As Jeremy Bentham famously said, “Publicity is the soul of justice.”

There is no need to take to the streets. The pen is mightier than the sword. Social media is more powerful than mainstream media. We have no reason to feel devastated and helpless.

I consider the issuance of notice to me for recording court proceedings and circulating them—without any editing, tampering, or offensive comments—as an opportunity to press for the preservation of video records by the courts themselves and for making such records available to litigants and lawyers. I had to record the proceedings because the Kerala High Court does not preserve the videos or make them available to lawyers and litigants.