Supreme Court moves closer to live streaming of proceedings
New Delhi, Aug 24 : The Supreme Court on Friday moved closer to live streaming of its proceedings as it said that it was an expansion of the concept of open court hearing of matters without crowding the court rooms.
Reserving the order on a batch of petitions by senior counsel Indira Jaising, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: "Let us first start with it. We are just on a pilot project. We are not ruling out anything and will improve with time."
Justice Chandrachud expressed his apprehension about its likely misuse but others wanted to further expand its scope by including transcription of the recorded proceedings.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal on Friday submitted the Comprehensive Guidelines for Live Streaming of Court proceedings.
It says live streaming of the top court proceedings would as a pilot project in the court number one presided over by the Chief Justice of India and would be confined to the proceedings of the constitution bench matters.
It is only upon the success of the pilot project, that live streaming would be extended to other benches of the courts as well.
The guidelines say that apart from live streaming of the proceedings, the court may in future also provide for transcribing facilities and archive the audio-visual record of the proceedings to make webcsast accessible to the litigants and other interested people.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
