Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of non-functional CCTVs in police stations

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta initiated proceedings after taking note of a newspaper report which flagged 11 custodial deaths in the last seven to eight months. “Based on Dainik Bhaskar, we are directing for a suo motu public interest litigation titled ‘lack of functional CCTVs in police stations’, as it has been reported that there are 11 deaths in last 7-8 months in year 2025 in police custody,” the bench said in its order.

The fresh intervention highlights how, nearly a decade after the first judicial push for surveillance inside police stations, systemic compliance remains elusive.

The suo motu case comes even as the top court continues to monitor compliance in the Paramvir Singh Saini Vs Baljit Singh matter, in which its 2018 and 2020 ruling laid down the most comprehensive framework for CCTV installation.