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Allahabad HC Mandates 24/7 CCTV in Police Stations, Cites Manipulation Concerns
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CNBC TV18•01-10-2026, 01:41
Allahabad HC Mandates 24/7 CCTV in Police Stations, Cites Manipulation Concerns
- •The Allahabad High Court ruled that CCTV systems in police stations must operate 24/7, 365 days a year, emphasizing safeguards for non-functional surveillance.
- •If CCTV is non-functional, details of all persons brought for interrogation or arrest must be contemporaneously recorded in the General Diary (GD).
- •The court observed that police personnel acted as recovery agents in a case where a petitioner was illegally picked up over a sand-mining dispute.
- •The bench set aside an arrest due to a "grossly deficient" arrest memo, awarded Rs 10,000 compensation for illegal detention, and ordered the petitioner's release.
- •The court highlighted a "worrying aspect" of repeated police attempts to manipulate CCTV cameras within police station premises.
Key Questions Answered
The Allahabad High Court ordered that CCTV systems within all police stations must remain operational 24x7 throughout the year.
If a CCTV system fails, the Station House Officer must record the exact time and failure report in the General Diary, notify the district SP, and contemporaneously log all entry times, departure times, and interrogation details of suspects.
The court set aside the arrest because the arrest memo was grossly deficient and witnessed solely by police personnel, resulting in 24 hours of illegal detention for which the petitioner was awarded Rs 10,000.
