Chennai: Five months after the horrific Sathankulam police custodial death case, the Supreme Court has ordered all police stations in the country and investigation agencies including the CBI, National Investigation Agency and Enforcement Directorate, to install CCTV cameras with night vision and audio recording.
The Supreme Court was hearing a case of custodial torture in Punjab, when this order was passed.â
Most of these agencies carry out interrogation in their office(s), so CCTVs shall be compulsorily installed in all offices where such interrogation and holding of accused takes place in the same manner as it would in a police station. These cameras must be installed at entry and exit points of the police station, lock ups, corridors, lobbies, reception area, rooms of the sub-Inspector and Inspector, reception and outside washroomsâ, the order said.
CCTV cameras with recording facilities are also to be installed at the offices of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. The video and audio recordings have to be retained for 18 months for evidence, if needed. An independent panel can periodically ask for the recordings to check and monitor for any human rights violations.
By passing this order, the apex court has extended the ambit of its 2018 one, in which it had passed a judgment for bringing all police stations under the surveillance of the CCTV cameras to check human rights abuses. For this purpose, all States were required to constitute independent committees that could study CCTV camera footage and periodically publish reports of its observations.
A State Level Oversight Committee, comprising Secretary or additional Secretary from Home and Finance departments, Director General of Police or Inspector General of Police and a member of the State womenâs commission, must also be constituted to make certain the courtâs directions are duly complied with, besides taking care of budgetary allocations and supervision at the State level.
Similarly, District Level Oversight Committees, consisting of the district Magistrate, a Superintendent of police and a Municipality Mayor, will be set up in all districts to interact with the Station House Officers for upkeep of CCTVs and review the footage for any human right violation. The Centre and States have been given six weeks by the court to file their compliance affidavit with details of cameras installed, exact timeline of completing the remaining installations and constitution of oversight committees.