Of cameras and courtrooms

On Wednesday, some Supreme Court judges were hearing suggestions from the Bar to prevent unruly scenes at the court of the Delhi magistrate hearing the remand proceedings of Kanhaiya Kumar, the arrested student union leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University. As the magistrate's court can accommodate only around 20 people, according to the counsel for the Delhi High Court, one suggestion was to telecast the proceedings. But the judges rejected the idea, observing that it was a "larger issue", which could not be decided at that juncture. Judiciary, the world over, has resisted the entry of cameras into courtrooms. During a recent Supreme Court proceeding, when a lawyer started shouting slogans, the judges had to remind the counsels railing at each other that "this is not a boxing ring".