The Supreme Court has directed the Union Home Secretary to appear in the court on Tuesday, so that the work on the plan to install CCTV in police stations can be ensured properly.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Union Home Secretary to appear in the court on Tuesday, so that the plan to install CCTV cameras in police stations across the country can be implemented properly. This order was given by the bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta. The court was taking suo motu cognizance of this matter, because many police stations are still lacking CCTV cameras required for security and surveillance.
Bench raised questions on media report
During the hearing, the bench asked the central government counsel about a recent media report. The report claimed that CCTV cameras manufactured by some Chinese companies are being removed due to security reasons. Justice Sandeep Mehta said that the government itself has issued instructions that cameras coming from the neighboring country should be removed because they can record data and send it to the same country.
In this case, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Raja Thackeray informed the court that at present no formal order has been passed in this regard.
Amicus Curiae’s Report and States’ Position
The amicus curiae appointed as senior counsel informed the bench that most of the states have installed CCTV cameras and are in the process of creating a centralized dashboard. When the senior lawyer pointed out that Kerala has the best system, Justice Vikram Nath questioned that if Kerala has such an effective system, then why can’t other states follow it? The bench stressed the need for discussion with authorities and high-level monitoring.
ASG Thackeray said that the central government provides 60 per cent of the funds and it is the responsibility of the state governments to ensure that the cameras are installed properly.
Requirement of high level participation
The Supreme Court was told that an Under Secretary level officer was involved in the meeting, which was considering the implementation and technical framework. Expressing dissatisfaction, the bench said that the presence of a high level officer is mandatory to monitor the scheme. After this, ASG Thackeray assured the court that now high level officials will be present in the meeting.
The Supreme Court said that the case will be heard again tomorrow and the Union Home Secretary should be personally present in the court. The court clarified that appropriate assistance will be taken from the Home Secretary in the implementation of the scheme. The bench also underlined that the Center and the states will have to work together to ensure timely installation of CCTV in police stations and effective functioning of the centralized monitoring system.
Comments are closed.