CCTV issues in police stations to be resolved in 2 weeks: Govt to SC

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that all outstanding concerns related to the installation and functioning of CCTV cameras in police stations across the country would be addressed within two weeks.

Attorney General R Venkataramani made the submission before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, stating that he was reviewing the matter and consultations were underway. “I am taking stock of the issues,” he told the court, adding that a series of meetings would be held with officials and the amicus curiae assisting the bench.

The Union home secretary also appeared in court in compliance with an April 6 direction of the apex court, which had sought his presence to facilitate effective implementation of the CCTV scheme.

The hearing was part of a batch of petitions, including a suo motu case initiated by the court over concerns about non-functional CCTV systems in police stations. During the proceedings, Justice Nath pointed out that the Union government had been represented by an under secretary in earlier discussions convened by the amicus with states and Union Territories. “Does it look nice?” the judge remarked, indicating dissatisfaction with the level of representation.

The bench referred to submissions made a day earlier, highlighting that Kerala had developed and fully implemented a robust software system for CCTV monitoring. It suggested that the Centre consider adopting a uniform model based on such existing solutions rather than allowing each state to develop separate systems. “Instead of every state creating its own software and spending money and time, there is already a ready software which is in use,” the bench observed.

The court further noted that, according to the amicus, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have already established centralised dashboards. It indicated that the Union government could issue directions or advisories encouraging all states to follow a similar framework.

Responding to these observations, Venkataramani assured the bench that discussions would be held with all stakeholders to streamline the process. Recording his statement, the court said that “within two weeks, he would make sure that all the issues are sorted out by holding regular meetings with the amicus and the other relevant officers”.

The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on April 28. The court directed the amicus curiae, senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, to submit a fresh status report before the next hearing and permitted the Centre to file an affidavit if required. It also stated that the personal presence of the home secretary would not be required in future unless specifically directed.

On Monday, Dave had informed the bench that most states had already installed CCTV cameras and were in the process of setting up centralised monitoring systems.

Earlier, on February 26, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and other stakeholders to participate in discussions on feasibility and implementation, including the creation of a centralised dashboard and standardisation of CCTV infrastructure nationwide.

The case stems from the court’s earlier directions on police reforms. In 2018, the apex court ordered the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations to curb human rights violations. This was expanded in December 2020 to include offices of investigative agencies such as the CBI, ED and NIA.

The court has mandated that cameras cover all critical areas within police stations, including entry and exit points, lock-ups, corridors and reception areas, with no blind spots. It has also required systems to have night vision, audio and video recording capabilities, and storage capacity for at least one year.