Virtual Appearance, No Live Streaming: Supreme Court Tightens Rules For Litigants After Courtroom Ruckus

Last Updated:July 17, 2026, 11:51 IST

The decision came after a law student disrupted the proceedings of the courtroom by hurling abuses at the Chief Justice of India and throwing case papers.

Supreme Court Ruckus: The Supreme Court has tightened the procedure for litigants appearing in-person without an advocate after a law student disrupted the proceedings of the courtroom by hurling abuses at the Chief Justice of India and throwing case papers.

Following the incident, the top court has made virtual appearance the preferred mode of the litigants and restricted live-streaming for those who insist on appearing physically.

The decision was taken by the Full Court in its meeting held on July 15 while approving amendments to the procedure governing parties-in-person, LiveLaw reported.

Under the revised framework, litigants appearing without lawyers will first be offered the option of attending court proceedings through video conferencing during their interaction with the Registrar, as required under Order IV Rule 1(c) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.

If a party-in-person still chooses to appear physically before the court, the appearance will be permitted only on the condition that the proceedings involving them will not be live-streamed or video-recorded.

“The Full Court resolved that during the interaction with the Registrar in terms of Order IV Rule 1(c) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, the parties-in-person shall be given an option to appear through virtual mode. However, if the parties-in-person insist to appear through physical mode only, then they shall be permitted to appear in person subject to the condition that no live-streaming shall be done and video-recording of the proceedings shall also not be permitted," the Supreme Court administration said in a statement.

What Happened On July 10?

The incident took place on July 10 inside Court No 13 during the hearing of a Special Leave Petition filed by Prabal Pratap Singh, who was appearing as a petitioner-in-person before a bench of Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice Alok Aradhe.

Prabal allegedly disrupted the proceedings by using abusive and objectionable language against the judges, throwing papers inside the courtroom and creating a commotion.

The courtroom atmosphere turned dramatic when the petitioner, who appeared in person, displayed an unusually aggressive stance in his submissions.

“Mr judicial servant. I order you to order the registration of an FIR against the ACP … Lucknow," he said.

Justice Viswanathan immediately questioned the litigant’s remarks, asking, “You are ordering me? You are ordering us?"

The petitioner replied that everything was already on record. “That is all from my side. Everything is on record," he said.

Moments later, he allegedly threw papers into the air and used abusive language against the Chief Justice of India, prompting security personnel to intervene and escort him out of the courtroom.

When security personnel intervened to restore order, he allegedly pushed a security officer and obstructed him from performing official duties.

Another security-related incident took place last year, when an advocate allegedly attempted to throw a shoe at the then Chief Justice BR Gavai.

About the Author

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degre...Read More

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