CCTVs in police stations: SC grants final deadline to states
What's the story
The Supreme Court has given states and union territories (UTs) three weeks to submit compliance affidavits regarding the installation of functional CCTV cameras in police stations. The court, led by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, was hearing a suo motu case on this issue, reported Live Law. Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, the amicus curiae in the case, said only 11 states have responded so far, even though the bench had raised it in an order dated October 14.
Compliance extension
Union's request for extension and court's response
The Union of India is yet to file its compliance affidavit regarding central investigating agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought three weeks for this. The court granted this request, giving all remaining states and UTs three weeks to submit their compliance affidavits. If not submitted by December 16, the court ordered Principal Secretaries and Directors of respective state agencies to appear before it with explanations for non-compliance.
Previous order
Supreme Court's earlier mandate on CCTV installation
The court's current action is a continuation of its previous mandate in December 2020. In the case of Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh, the court had ordered all state and UT governments to install CCTV cameras in every police station. However, compliance has been inconsistent, with many cameras either not installed or lying defunct.
Monitoring issues
Court's concerns over independent monitoring of CCTV
On September 15, the court had expressed concerns about independent monitoring of CCTV cameras without human intervention. This was after reports that even if CCTVs are installed as per earlier directions, officials could still switch them off. On September 26, the court asked Rajasthan state to answer queries about regular audits for functioning CCTVs and preservation periods for CCTV footage in police stations.