1 week ago
Karnataka High Court Orders Continuous CCTV Monitoring In Police Stations
The Karnataka High Court said police-station cameras must work all the time.
It said power cuts should not stop the cameras from recording.
Police must watch the cameras’ working status through a central online dashboard.
The dashboard must warn officials when equipment breaks.
Police must check batteries, UPS systems and recording equipment regularly.
They must also keep digital records of camera failures and repairs.
The court made these orders after V. Shailaja said footage from a police station was not provided to her.
She wanted the footage to support her claims of harassment and illegal detention.
The Karnataka High Court ordered police stations statewide to keep CCTV cameras operating continuously.
Authorities must create a live dashboard showing camera, recording-system, UPS and equipment status.
Automatic alerts, technical audits and digital records of failures and repairs are required.
The court directed police to preserve footage for the legally prescribed period and develop cloud-backup procedures.
The case followed V. Shailaja’s challenge over missing footage related to alleged harassment and illegal detention at Whitefield police station.
- Who
- The Karnataka High Court, Justice Suraj Govindaraj, Karnataka police authorities and petitioner V. Shailaja.
- What
- The court ordered continuous CCTV operation, live monitoring, technical audits, automatic failure alerts, footage preservation and cloud-backup procedures in police stations.
- Where
- Police stations across Karnataka, including Whitefield police station in Bengaluru.
- When
- The directions were issued while hearing a case concerning footage from September 4, 2024; the Karnataka Information Commission had dismissed Shailaja’s plea in November 2025.
- Why
- To prevent CCTV systems from becoming non-functional during outages and to ensure footage is available for accountability and legal proceedings.
Key facts
- Court
- Karnataka High Court
- Judge
- Justice Suraj Govindaraj
- Petitioner
- V. Shailaja
- Affected station
- Whitefield police station
- Reported power issue
- Whitefield police station reportedly experienced power interruptions for nearly 11 months.
- Required monitoring
- A centralised dashboard must show the live status of CCTV cameras, recording systems, UPS units and connected equipment.
- Required records
- Police must record downtime, equipment failures and repair periods, with a digital trail for breakdowns.
- Backup procedure
- The police computer division must prepare a standard operating procedure covering CCTV-footage preservation and cloud backups.
Sources
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