6 months ago
1
The Centre’s deficiency of effect to a judicial absorption to instal CCTV cameras successful the offices of agencies similar CBI, ED and NIA to forestall custodial torture prompted the Supreme Court connected Tuesday (November 25, 2025) to inquire if the Union authorities is taking the apex tribunal “very lightly”.
It has been 5 years since a Supreme Court judgement made it mandatory for the police and cardinal probe agencies to hole and support CCTV cameras successful constabulary stations and offices of cardinal instrumentality enforcement agencies with powers of “interrogation”.
The court was shocked to observe that custodial cruelty has acold from faded with reports astir 11 custodial deaths successful 8 months successful Rajasthan.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta chose to suo motu re-examine the level of compliance shown by States, Union Territories and the Centre to the 2020 judgement of the apex court.
However, the Bench, connected Tuesday (November 25, 2025), recovered that the effect to its interest from the States and UnioN Territories was astatine champion lukewarm, with lone 11 of them condescending to adjacent record compliance reports. The Centre did not record one.
“The Union of India is taking the tribunal precise lightly. Why?” Justice Nath asked.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, vehemently denied, saying “not astatine all… The Union is not taking the tribunal lightly, ‘very’ oregon immoderate different way. We volition record an affidavit”.
Justice Mehta corrected him, saying “not an affidavit, but compliance”. Justice Mehta referred to the custodial decease statistic from Rajasthan, “nobody volition tolerate that now”.
Mr. Mehta agreed, but submitted that CCTVs extracurricular constabulary stations could besides beryllium counter-productive. He seemed to beryllium presenting the information constituent of view.
Justice Mehta said constabulary stations were live-streamed successful the United States. The Solicitor replied that determination were besides “private resort-type jails successful America”.
“Mr. Mehta is being sarcastic,” Justice Nath noted.
The tribunal pointed to much unfastened correction centres oregon jails to shrink over-crowding and trim the fiscal load of moving prisons.
The apical instrumentality serviceman said helium would consult the American system. Justice Mehta responded that the ideas already enumerated successful India were rather sufficient. The Solicitor General was fixed further clip to record a response. The tribunal ordered that the directors of the 3 Central agencies and main location secretaries of the remaining States and Union Territories would person to personally respond if compliance is not filed earlier the adjacent proceeding connected December 19.
In 2020, a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman (now retired), successful Paramvir Singh Saini versus Baljit Singh, had directed the Centre to compulsorily instal CCTV cameras and signaling instrumentality successful constabulary stations arsenic a deterrent against custodial torture.
The tribunal had ordered akin surveillance successful the offices of cardinal agencies specified arsenic the National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Department of Revenue Intelligence, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and “any different bureau which carries retired interrogations and has the powerfulness of arrest”.
The CCTVs and signaling equipment, the apex tribunal had reasoned successful 202, would beryllium utilized arsenic a safeguard to support the cardinal close to dignity and life.
“As astir of these agencies transportation retired interrogation successful their office(s), CCTVs shall beryllium compulsorily installed successful each offices wherever specified interrogation and holding of accused takes spot successful the aforesaid mode arsenic it would successful a constabulary station,” Justice Nariman, who authored the judgment, had directed.
