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PoliticsSupreme Court of India mutes livestream audio during oral mentionings before CJI
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On July 25, 2026, the audio feed of the Supreme Court of India's livestream was muted during oral mentionings before Chief Justice Surya Kant. The control room posted a message stating 'as per direction, audio stopped in Court 1'. While video continued, the public, media, and lawyers could not hear exchanges between the bench and lawyers. The CJI had previously stated that oral mentioning is an 'administrative' exercise, not a judicial proceeding, and should not be reported. This follows recent incidents where sensitive oral mentionings, including one about Delhi Police action against NEET-UG paper leak protesters, went viral on social media. The CJI's dismissive remark in that case had sparked controversy.
Source report
The public, media, and lawyers were unable to hear the exchange between the Bench and lawyers mentioning their cases
Published: July 30, 2026 12:25 am IST | NEW DELHI
By The Hindu Bureau
The audio feed during the Supreme Court of India’s live-streaming of oral mentionings before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant was muted on Friday (July 25, 2026).
The control room managing the live feed for the Chief Justice’s courtroom posted a message on the chat box informing viewers that “as per direction, audio stopped in Court 1”.
While the video feed continued, the lack of audio prevented the public, the media, and lawyers from hearing the oral exchange between the Bench and lawyers mentioning their cases.
The CJI had recently stated that mentioning was an “administrative” exercise rather than a judicial proceeding, and ought not to be reported.
Unique Window
Oral mentionings are a routine usually witnessed as soon as the court assembles for the day. Lawyers are heard seeking urgent hearings, at times for safeguarding life, liberty, and other fundamental rights. It is a unique window for lawyers and litigants to directly get the attention of the Chief Justice of India.
The oral mentions are listed early, while others are done impromptu. In each case, the CJI evaluates the urgency of the issue mentioned and decides whether or not to list the case early.
Recent days have seen sensitive issues being orally mentioned before the CJI, even before the filing of any petition or a formal hearing. The oral exchanges between the top judge and mentioning lawyers or litigants are widely reported. Videos of such instances had even gone viral on social media.
One such instance involved an oral mentioning by advocate Narendra Mishra, who had sought the court’s intervention against the Delhi Police for its crackdown on protesters linked to the NEET-UG paper leak. Mr. Mishra had claimed that he had videos of the police action on the protesters.
The CJI dismissed the lawyer’s claim with a remark: “not to waste our time and not waste your time. We are not interested in videos and we don’t have time to watch…” The comment had triggered a furore.
Related stories:
- SC bars unauthorised recording, monetisation of court videos on social media
- ‘Don’t waste our time’: CJI Kant declines to take cognisance of police violence during CJP’s Parliament march
Source
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Supreme Court Livestream Audio Muted During Oral Mentionings Before CJI