Install CCTVs at all prisons, orders SC

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Friday made it mandatory for all prisons across the country to have CCTV cameras installed inside jail. The judgement also asked State Governments to consider providing CCTVs in all police stations and lock-ups to curb incidents of custodial torture.

Setting a one-year deadline for its order to be implemented, the bench of Justices TS Thakur and R Banumathi made it clear that at any cost, the installation of CCTVs should not extend beyond two years.

The slew of directions came on an application filed by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who assisted the court as amicus curiae to deal with the problem of overcrowding of jails and rising incidents of violence and deaths inside them.Besides installation of CCTVs, the application pointed out the state-of-affairs in State Human Rights Commissions (SHRCs) which either do not exist in many states or remain non-operational on account of posts remaining vacant.

The Bench directed the States and Union Territories to set up SHRC and to fill up vacancies, if any. The SHRC would be an important link to monitor prison reforms. The amicus had suggested to Court that feed recording from CCTV should be sent to a control centre managed by the SHRC. Registered NGOs and civil groups linked with SHRC should periodically visit the jails, Singhvi had said.

The court gave three months time to states and UTs to fill up vacancies in SHRCs and even directed every police station to have at least two women constables. In the case of Delhi, the bench found it had no human rights commission of its own even though there are several jails in the Capital region.

As per data collected by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) during 2010-11, there were 1584 custody deaths in jails. This figure climbed to 1842 in 2012. As regards, police custody deaths for the corresponding periods, the figure stood at 311 at the end of 2011, which increased to 434 by 2012 and settled at 341 in 2013.

While the court order does not make it mandatory for CCTVs in police stations, the court felt that the need of monitoring police stations was necessary as several instances of torture get reported from police lock-ups against which victims are helpless for want of evidence.