Supreme Court Calls May 6 Meet on CCTV Fund Use in Police Stations

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that a meeting be held on May 6 to discuss the utilisation of funds by states for installing CCTVs in police stations across the country.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, assisting as amicus curiae in a suo motu case on non-functional CCTVs in police stations, to convene the meeting with the Centre, all states and Union Territories.

"We are of the view that a meeting be convened by the amicus, as done earlier, in which the home secretary of the central government or his nominee not below the rank of joint or additional secretary and the home secretary of states/Union Territories will participate," the bench said.

The issue arose after the amicus flagged concerns over how states were utilising allocated funds.

Dave informed the court that the Centre provides 100 per cent funding for Union Territories and 90 per cent for hilly states, while for other states, the Centre contributes 60 per cent and the remaining 40 per cent is borne by the states.

"Why don't we get responses of the states only on utilisation of funds?" the bench said.

The court suggested that the amicus convene the meeting with the Centre, states and UTs to address the issue.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on May 13, with the court directing that a report be submitted beforehand.

On April 7, the Centre had informed the court that all issues related to CCTV installation in police stations would be resolved within two weeks.

Attorney General R Venkataramani had said he was reviewing the situation and that several steps were underway.

On February 26, the apex court directed the Centre and others to participate in a meeting to discuss feasibility, modalities and implementation, including a centralised dashboard and standardisation of CCTV infrastructure.

The court had earlier initiated suo motu proceedings over the lack of functional CCTVs in police stations after taking note of a media report.

In 2018, the apex court mandated the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations to prevent human rights violations.

In December 2020, it further directed the Centre to install CCTV cameras and recording equipment in offices of investigative agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The court said CCTV cameras must be installed at all key locations in police stations, including entry and exit points, main gates, lock-ups, corridors, lobbies, reception areas and spaces outside lock-up rooms to ensure complete coverage.

It also directed that CCTV systems must have night vision capabilities and record both audio and video.

The court made it mandatory for the Centre, states and Union Territories to procure systems capable of storing data for at least one year.

(with PTI inputs)