Mockery of Supreme Court order: Karnataka High Court directs State wide audit of CCTV in police stations

The Karnataka High Court recently took strong exception to the State government's argument that CCTV cameras at a police station in Bengaluru were not working due to power outage and lack of back up power [V Shailaja v The Commissioner]..Justice Suraj Govindaraj said that such a stance amounted to mockery of the Supreme Court' s 2020 order to install CCTV cameras in all police stations. "Mockery of the Supreme Court order..What to do? This is a mockery of the order and you submit a report that you complied (with the Supreme Court order). There's an affidavit filed in Supreme Court that every police station has CCTV cameras, fully functional 24 hours. The only conclusion we can arrive at is that you were also happy with it not working; that is why you did not do anything for 1.5 years, it served your purpose. There is no other conclusion that we can draw," the Court remarked.The very purpose of installing CCTV cameras in police stations is defeated if the systems are allowed to remain non-functional during power outages, the bench said."This will not only affect them but everybody else because if that is the status of CCTV across the State. Then as we said earlier, it is a mockery of the Supreme Court order," the judge remarked.The Court made the observation on August 13 while directing the State authorities to conduct a detailed audit of CCTV systems and power backup infrastructure across all police stations in Karnataka."We will ask the Home Secretary to look into this and file a detailed report and what steps are to be taken for this," the Court said.Pertinently, the Court directed the Home Department and Police Computer Wing to design, develop and implement a State-level IT system to monitor the functioning of CCTVs in all police stations..The Court was hearing a petition concerning the alleged non-availability of CCTV footage from Whitefield Police Station relating to an incident said to have occurred on September 4, 2024.It was her allegation that a police officer had employed third degree methods at the police station by using lathi in her private parts.The petitioner, appearing in-person, submitted that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) had given different statements before different authorities and was telling the Court there was no uninterrupted power supply (UPS) at the police station during the time of the incident."You feel like laughing, I feel like crying. They are guilty for all they have done because they are giving different statements in different places. In front of the Court, the ACP is submitting that at that time there was no UPS. They are professionally telling lies. They can lie but not get away with such injustice. It has happened to me, it should not happen to anyone else.".Additional Government Advocate (AGA) Shamanth Naik submitted that the CCTV system at Whitefield Police Station remains operational only when mains electricity is available. The UPS supporting the system had remained non-functional for nearly 1.5 years, including on September 4, 2024, the date of the alleged incident, he said.It was further submitted that inverters were installed last year and the battery is only used for a cabin and specific area of the police station. The submission drew a chuckle from the bench.The Court said that the police station had not ensured the CCTV's functionality because it suited them.The AGA maintained that the CCTV was functional, and it was the back-up power that was not working when normal power supply was not available. "What use is the CCTV (then)?" the judge demanded.The Court asked why the video pertaining to the said date was not available on the cloud. The AGA submitted that without mains electricity, the CCTV was not switched on to capture the incident which is why nothing was available on the cloud. A body camera video from an inspector was available, he further said.The Court then asked the counsel to hand over that footage to the bench..The Court observed that if the UPS had remained defective for nearly 11 months, the Station House Officer could not have remained a “passive spectator twiddling his thumbs”. .Once the authorities were informed that the UPS was not functioning, it was incumbent upon every officer responsible for maintenance and supervision of the police station to take immediate steps to repair or replace it, the Court said.“Failure to do so defeats the very object for which CCTV cameras were directed to be installed, namely, to ensure continuous surveillance, transparency, accountability, and preservation of evidence,” the Court observed..The Court also examined a report detailing CCTV cameras and UPS systems installed in various police stations across Karnataka. The Court noted that the column relating to the status of the UPS recorded the word 'nil' instead of 'not working' in order to paint a picture that CCTVs were working round the clock. It noted that most police stations had approximately 4 CCTV cameras, while the capacity of UPS systems varied considerably.The Court said the report did not explain the basis for the varying capacities or whether the UPS provided sufficient backup to ensure uninterrupted functioning of the CCTV system during power failures..The Court emphasised that installation of CCTV cameras was not a mere formality and the authorities have the obligation to ensure that they remain functional and are capable of recording."A CCTV system without an effective and reliable power backup is liable to become inoperative during power failures, thereby defeating the very purpose for which such cameras were mandated.", reads the Court order.The Court directed the Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Home Department, and the Director General and Inspector General of Police to personally examine the issue and ensure a detailed enquiry under 27 categories covering all police stations and establishments across Karnataka.The audit has to examine the number and location of CCTV cameras, whether important areas such as lock-ups, entrances, exits, corridors and interrogation rooms are covered, whether cameras and recording equipment are functional, storage capacity and preservation of footage, availability of cloud or central-server storage, UPS capacity and actual backup time, frequency and duration of power failures, complaints concerning defective UPS systems, action taken on such complaints and officers responsible for maintenance and supervision..With regard to the Whitefield Police Station, the Court specifically ordered enquiry to ascertain whether there was any interruption in electricity supply on September 4, 2024 between 11:00 AM and 2:30 PM. Records of power supply to the Whitefield Police Station from Bangalore Electric Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) for the relevant period of the alleged incident have been directed to be placed on record. The authorities must also determine whether the UPS was functioning, whether CCTV cameras continued recording, whether footage was lost and whether any footage was uploaded to a cloud or central server..The High Court also directed the Police Computer Wing to design and implement a State-level IT system for monitoring CCTV systems in all police stations.The proposed system must include a centralised dashboard showing the status of every CCTV camera, recorder and UPS and automatic alerts when equipment goes offline..The matter will be heard again September 9..Advocate GB Sharath Gowda appeared for the Commissioner, The Karnataka State Information Commission. .[Read Order]