The Supreme Court (SC) has asked all the States and Union Territories Governments to ensure that CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras are installed in investigating agencies, including the CBI, the ED and National Investigation Agency (NIA), which conduct interrogations and have the power of arrest.
In past, there have been various cases for which Supreme Court recommended to install CCTV cameras, like in the case of D K Basu vs State of West Bengal in 2015 in which the SC directed that CCTVs should be installed in every police station and prison to check human rights abuses.
Another such instance was when the SC asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to set up a Central Oversight Body (COB) to implement the plan of action with respect to videography in the crime scene during investigation. Recently, the SC has found that the majority of the states and UTs lack the details of installing CCTVs in police stations.
The recent recommendation states that :-
- States and UTs should ensure that CCTV cameras are installed at each and every police station, at all entry and exit points, main gate, lock-ups, corridors, lobby and reception and also areas outside the lock-up rooms so that no part is left uncovered.
- CCTV systems must be equipped with night vision and have audio as well as video footage and it shall be mandatory for the Centre, states and UTs to purchase such systems which allow storage of data for maximum period possible, at least one year.
- The Centre should install CCTV cameras and recording equipment at the offices of investigating agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and National Investigation Agency (NIA), which conduct interrogations and have the power of arrest.
- Oversight Bodies should be extended to state and district level.
A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman said that states and Union Territories (UTs) should ensure that CCTV cameras are installed at each and every police station.
Oversight Bodies will monitor data collected from CCTVs. These bodies are said to be present at two levels- state and district. State-level Oversight Bodies (SLOC) must consist of secretary or additional secretary of home department, secretary or additional secretary of finance department; director general or inspector general of police and chairperson or member of the state women’s commission. This body also has specified duties like purchase, distribution and installation of CCTVs and equipment, obtain budgetary allocation for the same.
District Level Oversight Committee (DLOC) should comprise of — divisional commissioner or regional commissioner or revenue commissioner division of district, district magistrate and superintendent of police and mayor of a municipality within the district or head of ‘zilla panchayat’ in rural areas. Their special duty includes interacting with station house officer (SHO) about functioning of these CCTV and to review footage stored from CCTVs in various police stations to check for any human rights violation that may have occurred but are not reported.
CCTV installation at various offices mentioned above is essential to maintain security and to keep a check on human rights violation. Our constitution under Article 21 States that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law. It does not matter if the person is a criminal or alleged for a crime that is a potential criminal. They must be given their right to dignity.
There is various data that might point towards human rights violation. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, between 2001 and 2018, only 26 policemen were convicted of custodial violence despite 1,727 such deaths being recorded in India. Only 4.3% of the 70 deaths in 2018 were attributed to injuries during custody due to physical assault by police. Apart from custodial deaths, more than 2,000 human rights violation cases were also recorded against the police between 2000 and 2018. And only 344 policemen were convicted in those cases. To keep a check on such instances, CCTV cameras are to be installed.
