Custodial violence and death is a 'blot' on the system: Supreme Court

The apex court asked if the Centre was taking the issue concerning lack of functional CCTVs in police stations, lightly.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said custodial violence and death is a "blot" on the system, and asked if the Centre was taking the issue concerning lack of functional CCTVs in police stations, lightly. 

Taking up a suo motu case, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta expressed its displeasure with government’s response on a direction to install CCTV cameras in the offices of agencies like CBI, ED and NIA to prevent custodial torture. 

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said custodial deaths cannot be justified. 

The bench, however, pointed out, 11 deaths were reported in police custody in eight months in Rajasthan.

"Now, this country will not tolerate this. This is a blot on the system. You can't have deaths in custody," the bench said.

Having noted the Centre has not filed compliance affidavit in the matter, the bench asked, "The Union is taking this court very lightly. Why?”

Mehta said he was not appearing in the suo motu matter but nobody can take the court lightly. He assured that Centre would file the compliance affidavit within three weeks.

Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, amicus curiae in a separate matter, submitted that he has filed a report in the case in which order was passed in December 2020.

In December 2020, the top court had directed the Centre to install CCTV cameras and recording equipment at the offices of investigating agencies, including the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency.

The court was informed that in the suo motu case, only 11 states have filed their compliance affidavits.

Madhya Pradesh counsel said that each police station and outpost is connected to a centralised work station at district control room. "That is something remarkable," the bench said.

Dave said CCTVs were installed in three central probe agencies but the other three are yet to comply with th court's direction.

"It's a judgment of the court, we are bound. But having CCTV inside the police stations also is something which can be counterproductive to investigation. Now there is a judgement, we can't argue," Mehta said.

The bench observed that in America, they have live streaming of the footage and the court is already seized of a matter concerning open air prison.

"You don't need any other system. That is one of the best resolutions to so many problems of overcrowding and regular complaints of violence in jails," the bench said, adding it would also help in reducing the financial burden.

Dave submitted that there was no budgetary allocation done for installation of CCTVs for three central agencies.

The bench gave three weeks' time to the states and UTs, which have not yet filed their compliance affidavits, to do so and fixed the matter for hearing on December 16.

The apex court in September, this year, had taken suo motu cognisance of a media report which stated that 11 lives were lost in police custody in Rajasthan in the first eight months of 2025, of which seven incidents occurred in the Udaipur division.

The court, in a separate matter, in 2018, had ordered installation of CCTV cameras in police stations to check human rights abuses.