Litigants have no right to copies of court hearing recordings, Karnataka High Court rules under its 2021 live streaming rules

23 October 2026

The Karnataka High Court has held that a litigant has no right to copies of the recording of court proceedings unless the court specifically orders them.
Justice C.M. Poonacha read Rule 8, on storage and access, together with Rule 10, on disclaimers, prohibitions and restrictions, in the Karnataka Rules on Live Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings, 2021.
The court held that archival recordings are not the official record of proceedings unless the bench directs otherwise.
Rule 10(2) bars unauthorised recording, sharing or dissemination, and the court holds exclusive copyright in the recordings and archival data.
Since the petitioner had no such right, his challenge to the refusal of his request did not arise, and the writ petition was dismissed.
The case is A. Sathyanarayana Swamy v. The High Court of Karnataka, reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 428.