The Station House Officer (SHO) is strictly responsible for the maintenance and functioning of CCTV cameras in police stations; failure to report or rectify malfunctions constitutes a negligent approach to mandatory Apex Court guidelines.

Order

11/05/2026

1. Vide order dated 28.04.2026, the Court had directed the Superintendent of Police, Udaipur to look into the matter regarding alleged incident of 05.12.2025 as stated by the petitioner.

2. The allegation of the petitioner was that he was picked up from his shop on 05.12.2025 and was taken to the Police Station which fact would be evident from the CCTV footage of the shop and the police station. On the very next day, the alleged recovery had been shown.

3. Counsel submits that CCTV footage of the shop had been supplied by the petitioner.

4. Factual report dated 10.05.2026 has been filed by the learned Public Prosecutor. As per the said report, the CCTV cameras of the concerned Police Station were not functional from 01.12.2025 to 23.12.2025 because of some technical glitch. It has been submitted that the cable of the cameras broke on 01.12.2025, which could be re-connected only on 23.12.2025.

5. A bare perusal of the report reflects that despite the CCTV cameras not been functional for more than 20 days, no immediate step seems to have been taken by the concerned SHO who took it in a most casual manner.

6. In Paramvir Singh Saini Vs. Baljit Singh & Ors.; (2021) 1 SCC 184, Hon’ble the Apex Court while passing directions to ensure that CCTV cameras are installed in each and every police station functioning in respective State and/or Union Territory, observed and directed as under:

“14. The duty and responsibility for the working, maintenance and recording of CCTVs shall be that of the SHO of the police station concerned. It shall be the duty and obligation of the SHO to immediately report to the DLOC any fault with the equipment or malfunctioning of CCTVs. If the CCTVs are not functioning in a particular police station, the SHO concerned shall inform the DLOC of the arrest/interrogations carried out in that police station during the said period and forward the said record to the DLOC. If the SHO concerned has reported malfunctioning or non-functioning of CCTVs of a particular police station, the DLOC shall immediately request the SLOC for repair and purchase of the equipment, which shall be done immediately.

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

7. In view of above specific directions passed in Paramvir Singh Saini (supra), let an additional affidavit be filed by S.H.O., Police Station Hiranmagri, Udaipur specifying as to when the fact of non-functioning of CCTV cameras of the concerned police station was reported by him; when the said report was acted upon; and when the defect was cured? All the averments have to be positively supported by documentary proof thereof.

8. This Court feels constrained to observe that the directions passed by Hon’ble the Apex Court in Paramvir Singh Saini (supra) are being taken by the concerned SHOs in the most casual manner, as in maximum of the matters, whenever a footage of concerned police station is called for/directed to be considered, it is a routine reply that cameras were not functional on the relevant date. In that view, Superintendent of Police, Udaipur is directed to pass appropriate orders to all the concern