New Delhi: The Supreme Court will issue a set of guidelines regarding the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations across the country.
The apex court has ordered to bring police stations under CCTV camera surveillance to prevent custodial torture.
A bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman observed that CCTV visuals of 45 days should be stored in each police station. Meanwhile, the court also pointed out the need to protect the privacy of individuals while installing the cameras.
In 2018, the apex court had directed to install CCTV in all police stations as part of a move to prevent custodial torture. As per this order, the SC had asked the state governments and Union Territories to report back to the court the details of CCTV cameras installed.
But most of the states did not respond to this order. Many states including Kerala did not file a progress report regarding this to the apex court. In this background, the SC decided to issue the guidelines on installation of CCTV cameras.
The court also opined that areas in police stations, which are not under the surveillance of CCTV, should not become centres of custodial torture. CCTV equipped with the best microphones should be installed in police stations to get clear visuals and sound, the apex court said.
Meanwhile, Justices Rohinton Nariman and KM Joseph pointed out that CCTV cameras at police stations should not breach privacy.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, who appeared for the central government, demanded to form helplines to contact monitoring committees which aim to counter custodial torture.
