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Justice SM Subramaniam of Madras High Court has directed the government of Tamil Nadu to ensure that the footage recorded in the CCTV cameras installed in Police Stations are stored and protected for a minimum period of one year or eighteen months. Court has also directed the government to take all measures within three months to install footage storage facilities for the existing CCTV camera.

The Director General of Police (DGP), Tamil Nadu has also been ordered to ensure that the recorded CCTV camera footage in Police Stations are stored properly and in the event of failure on the part of the subordinate officials, to take all appropriate actions for their negligence, lapses, and dereliction of duty under the relevant Service Rules and as per law.

These observations were made in a case where a writ petition was filed seeking initiation of departmental enquiry against two police officers on the ground that when the petitioner sought to file a case against some persons, the policemen who were in charge demanded a bribe of Rs. 3 lakhs from the petitioner to do so.

The petitioner had claimed that when he declined to pay the bribe, he was illegally confined in the police station for a night without access to his cell phone. He further alleged that the policemen had taken a bribe from the person against whom he sought to file an FIR.

The petitioner prayed before the court to check the CCTV footage and verify that he was illegally detained. However, the Additional Government Pleader, appearing for the State, submitted that CCTV footage in a police station is maintained for 30 days and thereafter they are erased automatically, therefore, there is no scope for verifying the CCTV footage.

Court, on hearing this submission, remarked that “Courts have repeatedly directed that the CCTV footage in police stations must be stored at least for a period of 18 months.”

Court further noted that the judgment of the Supreme Court in Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh & Others has held that “CCTV cameras must then be installed with such recording systems so that the data is stored thereon shall be preserved for a period of 18 months. If the recording equipment is available in the market today, does not have the capacity to keep the States, Union Territories and the Central Government to purchase one which allows storage for the maximum period possible, and, in any case, not below 1 year.”

Accordingly, Court said that police stations must be installed with CCTV cameras, wherein, the footage can be stored at least for a period of one year so that an enquiry can be conducted whenever serious allegations are raised against the officials.

Court remarked “In spite of the orders of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the Police department is not equipped with the CCTV cameras for storage of footage at least for a minimum period of one year. The very purpose and object of CCTV cameras will be defeated, if the footage are automatically erased within 15 or 30 days.”

Case title: Saravana Balagurusamy Vs SP of Dindugal District