Back
Non-Functional CCTV Systems Draw High Court Mockery Rebuke State-Wide Audit Ordered
In a scathing order on , the directed a comprehensive audit of CCTV systems in all police stations across the state, after it emerged that the power backup at had been non-functional for 11 months, leaving cameras blind during a critical period. Justice Suraj Govindaraj, hearing a by V Shailaja, declared that such negligence makes a "mockery" of the 's mandate on CCTV surveillance.
The Broken Promise of Surveillance
The case arose from a petition seeking CCTV footage from from . The state's Additional Government Advocate submitted that the CCTV system only operated on mains electricity and that the UPS had been defective for nearly a year. The court rejected this defence outright, noting that if the UPS had been non-functional for 11 months, the Station House Officer could not have remained a passive spectator.
Justice Govindaraj observed:
"The very purpose of installing CCTV cameras in a police station is defeated if the system is allowed to remain non-functional during power outages."
He further remarked that such a stance amounted to
"a mockery of the
order,"
adding that the only conclusion one could draw is that the police
"were also happy with it not working; that is why you did not do anything for 1.5 years, it served your purpose."
A Flawed Report
The court examined a state report on CCTV and UPS installations across Karnataka and found "several disturbing features." Under the column for UPS status, the report used the expression "not working" and the word "nil" interchangeably, as if to imply all CCTVs were operating 24/7. The report disclosed wide variations in UPS capacity—from 0.5 KVA to 600 KVA—without any explanation of how capacity was determined or whether it sufficed for uninterrupted operation.
Justice Govindaraj emphasised that
"the installation of a CCTV is not a mere formality."
with the
's directions in
requires
"ensuring that the system remains continuously functional and capable of recording at all times."
A CCTV system without reliable power backup, he said, is
"liable to become inoperative during power failures, thereby defeating the very purpose."
A State-Wide Enquiry and IT Overhaul
The court directed the Additional Chief Secretary, , and the Director General and Inspector General of Police to personally examine the matter and conduct a detailed enquiry covering every police station. The enquiry will include:
- A technical and administrative audit of every CCTV camera, its location, working condition, recording device, storage capacity, and footage preservation period.
- A thorough review of power backup infrastructure, including UPS capacity, backup time, maintenance records, and responsibility for repairs.
- Verification of electricity supply data from for the Whitefield station on the date of the alleged incident.
- Identification of officers responsible for day-to-day maintenance, inspection, and reporting of defects.
Further, the court ordered the to design and implement a state-level information technology system to monitor the functioning of CCTVs in real time. The system must provide:
- A centralised dashboard showing the status of every camera, recorder, and UPS.
- Automatic alerts for equipment failures or when backup power falls below prescribed levels.
- A digital log of defects, reports, actions taken, and timelines for rectification.
- Automatic escalation of unresolved faults to supervisory officers.
- Daily, weekly, and monthly uptime reports with an to prevent tampering.
- Integration with cloud storage and for all levels of command.
The court directed that the monitoring system move
"from a complaint-based approach to a real-time, automated and accountable mechanism, so that prolonged failures do not go unnoticed."
The Final Word
The court concluded that the state cannot claim
merely because cameras have been installed.
"Unless adequate backup power is provided and maintained so as to ensure uninterrupted operation of the CCTV system, the installation of CCTV cameras by itself cannot be regarded as
with the directions of the Hon'ble
."
The matter stands adjourned to , for the state to file a report. The granted earlier was extended. The court made clear that the object of the enquiry is not merely to fix lapses in the present case but to ensure that such failures never recur in any police station across Karnataka.
