Soumen Sen, C.J.

1. We have taken serious note of the report submitted by the Registry disclosing unauthorised recording and uploading of court proceedings to the YouTube account of the alleged contemnor. It appears that the alleged contemnor had been unauthorisedly recording and uploading the court proceedings in the YouTube account in spite of repeated warnings in the past and being fully aware that such unauthorised recording and uploading is contrary to Rule 3(9) of the Electronic Audio-Video Linkage Rules (Kerala), 2025.

2. The legal position governing recording and dissemination of proceedings is presently contained in the Electronic Audio-Video Linkage Rules (Kerala), 2025. Rule 3(9) thereof provides:

                  “The confidentiality of proceedings conducted under these Rules shall be maintained by all Participants and persons present, and no broadcasting, photographing, publishing, recording, sharing or usage of such proceedings, either wholly or in part, shall be made except with the written permission of the High Court, Court or Forum.”

                  The aforesaid provision expressly prohibits broadcasting, photographing, publishing, recording or sharing of proceedings conducted under the Rules, either wholly or in part, except with the written permission of the High Court, Court or Forum. The present videos, which appear to contain recordings of proceedings of this Hon'ble Court, have been published through YouTube and X without any such permission being obtained.

3. The matter assumes further significance in view of the interim order dated 24.07.2026 in W.P.(C) No.751/2026, Harshita Grover v. Union of India & Ors. (2026 SCC OnLine SC 1393) By the said order, in para 9, the Hon'ble Supreme Court directed thus:

                  “As an interim measure, it is directed that there shall be no extraction, dissemination, monetisation, posting, re-posting, uploading, transmitting, modification, storing, or hosting of the audio-video recording(s) of the judicial proceedings on social media or any other digital platforms without prior permission of the Secretary General of the Supreme Court of India or the Registrar Generals of the jurisdictional High Courts.”

4. The uploading, dissemination and hosting of the audio-video recordings of the proceedings of this Hon'ble Court through YouTube and X, in the absence of prior permission of the competent authority, therefore assume significance in the light of the aforesaid interim direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

5. The titles under which the two present videos have been published, namely “You be the judge. Cameras can't lie. Denial of Justice to MSMEs. Watch full video on my YouTube and X” and “Cameras cannot lie. Denial of Justice to MSMEs. You be the judge.”, respectively constitute criminal contempt within the meaning of Section 2(c)(i) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

6. Considering the fact that the alleged contemnor is an Advocate, we are not formally issuing a rule of contempt at this stage. However, the Department is directed to cause notice to be served on the alleged contemnor within one week from the date. The matter shall be made returnable on 7th September 2026.

7. The alleged contemnor shall not be allowed to participate in any court proceedings in Kerala through online or virtual mode until further orders.

8. The Department is directed to circulate this order to the Hon'ble Judges of this Court and District Courts for information. This order shall be immediately intimated to the Registrar (Computerisation)–cum-Director (IT) for compliance. The Registry shall also immediately communicate this order to the alleged contemnor.