Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ruled that allowing lawyers to attend court proceedings via video conferencing does not grant them the right to record and circulate court proceedings.

Justice P. Gopinath expressed disapproval of Advocate Mathews Nedumpura's conduct in recording and sharing court proceedings via WhatsApp. The court stated that such actions could potentially constitute contempt of court as they undermine the dignity of the court and violate relevant rules.

It directed the registry to present the matter to the Chief Justice to determine whether it should be taken up on the judicial side.

Nedumpura argued that it was his "right" to record and circulate the court proceedings for the sake of transparency. However, the court rejected this argument, citing the 'Electronic Video Linkage Rules for Courts (Kerala), 2021,' and the 'Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) - Attending of Court Proceedings through Video Conferencing before the High Court of Kerala,' which explicitly prohibit the recording of proceedings.

"I am prima facie of the opinion that the recording of proceedings of this Court and circulating it in the manner indicated above constitutes contempt of court as it amounts to interference with the administration of justice and lowers the dignity of this Court, especially when the Rules of this Court prohibit recording of the proceedings of this Court," the Court stated. "Therefore, I direct the Registry to place this judgment before Hon'ble the Chief Justice to consider whether this issue should be taken up on the judicial side by a Bench to be nominated by Hon'ble the Chief Justice. Ordered accordingly."

This decision was made while the court was addressing petitions from companies challenging SARFAESI proceedings initiated against them by various banks.