New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre and several state governments over their continued non-compliance with its directions mandating functional CCTV cameras in all police stations.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, hearing the suo motu case titled ‘In Re: Lack of Functional CCTVs in Police Stations’, observed that the Centre appeared to be taking the apex court “very lightly”.
The Justice Nath-led Bench took cognisance of a media report which revealed that 11 people had died in police custody in Rajasthan in the first eight months of 2025, seven of them in the Udaipur division alone.
During the hearing, senior advocate Sidharth Dave, assisting the top court as amicus curiae, submitted a detailed chart highlighting the status of compliance received from various states.
Dave added that most states had failed to address the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) required for installation, maintenance and data preservation of CCTV systems.
The Justice Nath-led Bench remarked that Madhya Pradesh has emerged as a “model state”, with every police station reportedly linked to a central surveillance control room.
It took strong exception to the Centre’s failure to file any affidavit or compliance report despite repeated directions.
“The Union is still lacking in compliance. The Union is taking the court very lightly. Why?” the Justice Nath-led Bench asked.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the top court that an affidavit would be filed, but it responded that “not just an affidavit, but compliance” was expected.
“Now this country will not tolerate this blot,” added the apex court. The amicus further highlighted that agencies like the NIA and CBI lacked dedicated budgeting for CCTV infrastructure.
In its order, the Supreme Court noted that only 11 states/UTs had filed compliance affidavits in the suo motu matter. Granting a final 3-week period, the Justice Kant-led Bench directed the remaining states and Central agencies to file their affidavits by December 16.
The apex court made it clear that failure to comply would result in the personal presence of the Chief Secretaries of the defaulting states and the heads of the investigating agencies concerned.
The Supreme Court has already mandated the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations to maintain transparency and to curb instances of custodial torture.
It had directed that no part of a police station be left uncovered and that footage be preserved for at least 18 months in digital or network video recorders.
In 2023, the apex court had given the Centre and states a “last chance” to comply within three months. It had also made Station House Officers (SHOs) personally responsible for maintenance, data backup and repair of CCTV systems.
(IANS)
