New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday announced that it will deliver its order on September 26 in a suo motu case concerning the absence of functional CCTVs in police stations.
“The issue is one of oversight,” observed a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta during the hearing.
The matter arose after the court, on September 4, took suo motu notice of a media report highlighting 11 deaths in police custody in Rajasthan over the past eight months, with seven of these occurring in the Udaipur division alone.
The Supreme Court had previously, in 2018, directed the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations to prevent human rights violations. In December 2020, it extended the order, instructing the Centre to equip offices of investigative agencies—including the CBI, ED, and NIA—with CCTV and recording systems.
The court had emphasized that all states and Union Territories must ensure CCTV coverage in every police station, including entry and exit points, main gates, lock-ups, corridors, lobbies, reception areas, and spaces outside lock-up rooms, leaving no area unmonitored.
