Open justice and public dissemination of regulatory manuals via judicial platforms

The direction issued to the Supreme Court Registry to publish the Police Manual for Media Briefing directly on the official Supreme Court website embodies the principle of open justice, institutional transparency, and democratic accessibility. Placing the manual in the public domain ensures that civil society, legal practitioners, media organizations, and individual citizens are fully apprized of the standards governing police briefings, thereby establishing external checks and public accountability. Public accessibility prevents law enforcement agencies from operating under obscure or unpublished administrative guidelines, democratizes legal knowledge, and empowers citizens to hold police authorities accountable whenever unauthorized, sensational, or prejudicial disclosures occur. (Peoples Union for Civil Liberties & Anr. Vs The State of Maharashtra & Ors. | 2026 INSC 45)