The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 4) started a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) after reading a newspaper report that showed many police stations in India do not have working CCTV cameras. The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said that 11 deaths had been reported in police custody in Rajasthan in the last 7–8 months of 2025. This situation made the court take the issue very seriously and act immediately.

CCTV order since 2020

The Supreme Court had already given an important order in 2020. It said that every police station in the country must have CCTV cameras with night vision and audio recording. The order also said that cameras must be placed at important spots like lock-ups and interrogation rooms. According to the court’s earlier order, the footage must be saved for at least 18 months, and it should be available during any case of custodial torture or death.

Even after this order, many police stations still do not have working cameras. In many cases, police say that either the cameras were not working or the footage was missing. This makes it very difficult to investigate cases of custodial abuse. The court’s decision to take suo motu action shows how serious the problem is and how rules are not being followed properly.

The Supreme Court also reminded states and the Centre that special committees were created to look after the purchase, installation, and maintenance of CCTV cameras. It also said that if there are cases of serious injury or custodial death, the victims or their families can go to human rights commissions or courts. These bodies can demand CCTV footage to be used as evidence.

This new PIL will make sure that the 2020 order is properly followed. The Supreme Court is expected to ask states to share their action plans and progress reports. The case is seen as very important to stop custodial violence and to make police stations more transparent and accountable.

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