BJP drags Gaurav Gogoi to High Court over unauthorised use of live-streamed proceedings

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 18, 2025

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed a petition against Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi, accusing him of misusing the Gauhati High Court’s live-streamed proceedings for political propaganda.

The complaint, submitted by senior advocate Jayanta Kumar Goswami, alleges that Gogoi recorded and shared a portion of the court’s live stream on his official Facebook account without authorisation. Goswami argued that the act was a “gross violation of the dignity and neutrality of the High Court” and amounted to contempt.

On August 17, Gogoi had posted a video clip of the proceedings along with a political comment alleging corruption by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. His post read: “Himanta Biswa Sarma sir handed over 3,000 acres of constitutionally reserved land in Dima Hasao district to open Gautam Adani’s cement factory in Gujarat. See the reaction of the Justice of Gauhati High Court on this corruption.”

Goswami submitted Gogoi’s Facebook post, along with a screenshot and account link, as evidence. He cited the High Court’s rules, which explicitly bar recording, sharing, transmitting, or disseminating live-streamed proceedings without prior authorisation.

“From the material circulated by Gaurav Gogoi, it appears no prior authorisation was taken. Using such content to misinterpret court proceedings for political gain lowers the dignity of the judiciary and misuses the court’s exclusive copyright,” Goswami wrote in his petition.

He urged the registrar of the High Court to verify the dissemination of the content and initiate proceedings against Gogoi under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.