- Unknown user played pornographic content during live court hearings.
- Disruption forced multiple shutdowns of Delhi High Court’s VC facility.
- User claimed disruption was a hack originating from the United States.
An unknown user disrupted Delhi High Court proceedings on Wednesday, April 29, by repeatedly playing pornographic content during a live video conferencing session. The incident forced the court to shut down its VC facility multiple times. Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia were presiding over the hearing when the disruption occurred.
The breach happened not just in one courtroom but across several courts of the Delhi High Court. The user also played an audio message claiming the disruption was a “hack from the United States.”
How The Disruption Unfolded In The Delhi High Court
The obscene content was played multiple times. Each time the VC was resumed after being shut down, the same user re-entered and shared the screen again, playing the pornographic content. During one instance, the user also said, “Shut the meeting right now. Never turn it on again. You have been hacked.”
Additional Solicitor General of India (ASG) Chetan Sharma addressed the matter in court, describing it as a serious breach. “A disconcerting breach happened in the pre-lunch session, in some courts, not just one court, that has the effect of damaging the sanctity and overall integrity of the institution,” he said.
ASG Sharma requested the court to pass directions under Sections 69A and 79(3)(d) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, to the appropriate government “for the immediate takedown and to stop the dissemination of the incriminating material.”
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Chief Justice Upadhyaya responded: “Administratively, I’ve already instructed the RG (registrar general), we are making a request through the mechanism available for that.”
When the VC resumed after lunch, the meeting was locked on the Cisco Webex platform, which is used by Delhi and several other High Courts. Court staff also warned participants in the chatbox to identify themselves or face removal.
Delhi Police confirmed they would investigate once a formal complaint is received.
Has This Happened Before In Any Indian High Court?
This is not the first time Indian courts have faced such disruptions. In 2023, the Karnataka High Court suspended live streaming after obscene content was played across around six court halls during active hearings.
Following that incident, VC facilities were suspended across all Benches in Bengaluru, Dharwad, and Kalaburagi. Then Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale, now a judge of the Supreme Court, had announced in open court: “An unfortunate situation has arisen. We are stopping live-streaming and video-conferencing facilities.”
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Registrar (Computers) Suresh had then filed a complaint with the cybercrime police, stating that unknown individuals had joined the VC and “misbehaved and showed obscene visuals.”
Even earlier, in 2021, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising flagged a similar incident before a Karnataka HC bench, describing the breach as “gross contempt” of the court. “I will send evidence,” she said, adding that “this should not happen ever again.”
