PARAMVIR SINGH SAINI versus BALJIT SINGH & ORS. on 2 December 2020

1. We have heard Shri K.K. Venugopal, learned Attorney Generalfor India, Ms. Madhvi Divan, learned Addl. Solicitor General of India,Shri Siddhartha Dave, learned Senior Advocate (appointed as AmicusCuriae, vide Order dated 16.7.2020), Ms. Nitya Ramakrishnan, learnedcounsel appearing on behalf of the intervenor and the learned counselappearing on behalf of the respective States and Union Territories.

2. This Court, vide Order dated 03.04.2018 in SLP (Crl) No. 2302of 2017,reported as Shafhi Mohammad v. State of HimachalPradesh(2018) 5 SCC 311, directed that a Central Oversight Body A

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A(hereinafter referred to as the “COB”) be set up by the Ministry ofHome Affairs to implement the plan of action with respect to the use ofvideography in the crime scene during the investigation. This Court,whileconsidering the directions issued in D.K. Basu Vs. State of WestBengal & Others (2015) 8 SCC 744,held that there was a need forfurther directions that in every State an oversight mechanism be createdBwhereby an independent committee can study the CCTV camerafootages and periodically publish a report of its observations thereon.The COB was further directed to issue appropriate instructions in thisregard at the earliest.

3. This Court further directed that the COB may issue appropriateCdirections from time to time so as to ensure that use of videographybecomes a reality in a phased manner, the first phase of which beimplemented by 15.07.2018. The crime scene videography ought to beintroduced at least at some places as per viability and priority determinedby the COB.D4. Pursuant to the aforesaid directions a COB was constituted bythe Ministry of Home Affairs on 09.05.2018 (as per the Affidavit dated26.07.2018) to oversee the implementation of the use of photographyand videography in the crime scene by the State / Union TerritoryGovernment and other Central Agencies, to suggest the possibility ofEsetting up a Central Server for implementation of videography, and toissue appropriate directions so as to ensure that use of videographybecomes a reality in a phased manner. Accordingly, directions wereissued to the Administrators of the Union Territory, State Governmentsand other Central Agencies for effective implementation of the use ofphotography and videography at the crime scenes, and to furnish anFAction Taken Report on the implementation of the use of videography inthe crime scene.

5. This Court, vide Order dated 16.07.2020, issued notice in theinstant Special Leave Petition to the Ministry of Home Affairs on thequestion of audio-video recordings of Section 161 CrPC statements asGis provided by Section 161 (3) proviso, as well as the larger question asto installation of CCTV cameras in police stations generally. While issuingnotice this Court also took note of the directions in Shafhi Mohammad(supra).

6. This Court, vide Order dated 16.09.2020, impleaded all the StatesHand Union Territories to find out the exact position of CCTV cameras qua each Police Station as well as the constitution of Oversight Committeesin accordance with the Order dated 03.04.2018 of this Court in ShafhiMohammad (supra).

7. Pursuant to the said directions of this Court, ComplianceAffidavits and Action Taken Reports were filed by 14 States (till24.11.2020), namely, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab,Nagaland, Karnataka, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, Mizoram,Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur; and 2 Union Territories, namely,Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.

8. The majority of the Compliance Affidavits and Action TakenReports fail to disclose the exact position of CCTV cameras qua eachPolice Station. The affidavits are bereft of details with respect to thetotal number of Police Stations functioning in the respective State andUnion Territory; total number of CCTV cameras installed in each andevery Police Station; the positioning of the CCTV cameras alreadyinstalled; working condition of the CCTV cameras; whether the CCTVcameras have a recording facility, if yes, then for how many days/hours,have not been disclosed. Further, the position qua constitution of OversightCommittees in accordance with the Order dated 03.04.2018, and/or detailswith respect to the Oversight Committees already constituted in therespective States and Union Territory have also not been disclosed.

9. Compliance affidavits by all the States and Union Territoriesare to be filed, as has been stated earlier, by either the Principal Secretaryof the State or the Secretary, Home Department of the States/UnionTerritories. This is to be done by all the States and Union Territories,including those who have filed so-called compliance affidavits till date,stating the details mentioned in paragraph 8 of this Order. These affidavitsare to be filed within a period of six weeks from today.

10. So far as constitution of Oversight Committees in accordancewith our Order dated 03.04.2018 is concerned, this should be done at theState and District levels. The State Level Oversight Committee(hereinafter referred to as the “SLOC”) must consist of:

(i) The Secretary/Additional Secretary, Home Department;

(ii) Secretary/Additional Secretary, Finance Department;

(iii) The Director General/Inspector General of Police; and

(iv) The Chairperson/member of the State Women’s Commission.

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A11. So far as the District Level Oversight Committee (hereinafterreferred to as “DLOC”) is concerned, this should comprise of:

(i) The Divisional Commissioner/Commissioner of Divisions/Regional Commissioner/Revenue Commissioner Division ofthe District (by whatever name called); B

(ii) The District Magistrate of the District;

(iii) A Superintendent of Police of that District; and

(iv) A mayor of a municipality within the District/ a Head of theZilla Panchayat in rural areas.

C12. It shall be the duty of the SLOC to see that the directionspassed by this Court are carried out. Amongst others, the duties shallconsist of:

a)Purchase, distribution and installation of CCTVs and itsequipment; D

b)Obtaining the budgetary allocation for the same;

c)Continuous monitoring of maintenance and upkeep of CCTVsand its equipment; d)Carrying out inspections and addressing the grievancesEreceived from the DLOC; and e)To call for monthly reports from the DLOC and immediatelyaddress any concerns like faulty equipment.

Likewise, the DLOC shall have the following obligations:

Fa)Supervision, maintenance and upkeep of CCTVs and itsequipment; b)Continuous monitoring of maintenance and upkeep of CCTVsand its equipment;

c)To interact with the Station House Officer (hereinafterGreferred to as the “SHO”) as to the functioning andmaintenance of CCTVs and its equipment; and d)To send monthly reports to the SLOC about the functioningof CCTVs and allied equipment.

e)To review footage stored from CCTVs in the various PoliceH

Stations to check for any human rights violation that mayhave occurred but are not reported.

13. It is obvious that none of this can be done without allocation ofadequate funds for the same, which must be done by the States’/UnionTerritories’ Finance Departments at the very earliest.

14. The duty and responsibility for the working, maintenance andrecording of CCTVs shall be that of the SHO of the police stationconcerned. It shall be the duty and obligation of the SHO to immediatelyreport to the DLOC any fault with the equipment or malfunctioning ofCCTVs. If the CCTVs are not functioning in a particular police station,the concerned SHO shall inform the DLOC of the arrest / interrogationscarried out in that policestation during the said period and forward thesaid record to the DLOC.If the concerned SHO has reportedmalfunctioning or non-functioning of CCTVs of a particular Police Station,the DLOC shall immediately request the SLOC for repair and purchaseof the equipment, which shall be done immediately.

15. The Director General/Inspector General of Police of eachState and Union Territory should issue directions to the person in chargeof a Police Station to entrust the SHO of the concerned Police Stationwith the responsibility of assessing the working condition of the CCTVcameras installed in the police station and also to take corrective actionto restore the functioning of all non-functional CCTV cameras. TheSHO should also be made responsible for CCTV data maintenance,backup of data, fault rectification etc.

16. The State and Union Territory Governments should ensurethat CCTV cameras are installed in each and every Police Stationfunctioning in the respective State and/or Union Territory. Further, inorder to ensure that no part of a Police Station is left uncovered, it isimperative to ensure that CCTV cameras are installed at all entry andexit points; main gate of the police station; all lock-ups; all corridors;lobby/the reception area; all verandas/out houses, Inspector’s room; Sub-Inspector’s room; areas outside the lock-up room; station hall; in frontof the police station compound; outside (not inside) washrooms/toilets;Duty Officer’s room; back part of the police station etc.

17. CCTV systems that have to be installed must be equippedwith night vision and must necessarily consist of audio as well as videofootage. In areas in which there is either no electricity and/or internet, it A

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Ashall be the duty of the States/Union Territories to provide the same asexpeditiously as possible using any mode of providing electricity, includingsolar/wind power. The internet systems that are provided must also besystems which provide clear image resolutions and audio. Most importantof all is the storage of CCTV camera footage which can be done indigital video recorders and/or network video recorders. CCTV camerasBmust then be installed with such recording systems so that the data thatis stored thereon shall be preserved for a period of 18 months. If therecording equipment, available in the market today, does not have thecapacity to keep the recording for 18 months but for a lesser period oftime, it shall be mandatory for all States, Union Territories and the CentralCGovernment to purchase one which allows storage for the maximumperiod possible, and, in any case, not below 1 year. It is also made clearthat this will be reviewed by all the States so as to purchase equipmentwhich is able to store the data for 18 months as soon as it is commerciallyavailable in the market. The affidavit of compliance to be filed by all States and Union Territories and Central Government shall clearly indicateDthat the best equipment available as of date has been purchased.

18. Whenever there is information of force being used at policestations resulting in serious injury and/or custodial deaths, it is necessarythat persons be free to complain for a redressal of the same. Suchcomplaints may not only be made to the State Human Rights Commission,Ewhich is then to utilise its powers, more particularly under Sections 17and 18 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, for redressal ofsuch complaints, but also to Human Rights Courts, which must then beset up in each District of every State/Union Territory under Section 30of the aforesaid Act. The Commission/Court can then immediatelyFsummon CCTV camera footage in relation to the incident for its safekeeping, which may then be made available to an investigation agency inorder to further process the complaint made to it.

19. The Union of India is also to file an affidavit in which it willupdate this Court on the constitution and workings of the CentralGOversight Body, giving full particulars thereof. In addition, the Union ofIndia is also directed to install CCTV cameras and recording equipmentin the offices of:

(i) Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

(ii) National Investigation Agency (NIA)H

(iii) Enforcement Directorate (ED)

(iv) Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)

(v) Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)

(vi) Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO)

(vii) Any other agency which carries out interrogations and hasthe power of arrest.

As most of these agencies carry out interrogation in their office(s),CCTVs shall be compulsorily installed in all offices where suchinterrogation and holding of accused takes place in the same manner asit would in a police station.

The COB shall perform the same function as the SLOC for theoffices of investigative/enforcement agencies mentioned above both inDelhi and outside Delhi wherever they be located.

20. The SLOC and the COB (where applicable) shall givedirections to all Police Stations, investigative/enforcement agencies toprominently display at the entrance and inside the police stations/officesof investigative/enforcement agencies about the coverage of theconcerned premises by CCTV. This shall be done by large posters inEnglish, Hindi and vernacular language. In addition to the above, it shallbe clearly mentioned therein that a person has a right to complain abouthuman rights violations to the National/State Human Rights Commission,Human Rights Court or the Superintendent of Police or any other authorityempowered to take cognizance of an offence. It shall further mentionthat CCTV footage is preserved for a certain minimum time period,which shall not be less than six months, and the victim has a right to havethe same secured in the event of violation of his human rights.

21. Since these directions are in furtherance of the fundamentalrights of each citizen of India guaranteed under Article 21 of theConstitution of India, and since nothing substantial has been done in thisregard for a period of over 2½ years since our first Order dated03.04.2018, the Executive/Administrative/police authorities are toimplement this Order both in letter and in spirit as soon as possible.Affidavits will be filed by the Principal Secretary/Cabinet Secretary/Home Secretary of each State/ Union Territory giving this Court a firmaction plan with exact timelines for compliance with today’s Order. Thisis to be done within a period of six weeks from today.

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A22. We record our gratitude to Shri Siddhartha Dave, learnedAmicus Curiae, for rendering his services to this Court.

23. The Supreme Court registry to send a copy of this Order to allChief/Principal Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories, bothby physical as well as electronic means, today itself.

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24. List on 27.01.2021.

Devika Gujral

Directions issued

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