SC says 'country will not tolerate' custodial deaths; Centre, states to file compliance affidavit on CCTVs in police stations

The Supreme Court today granted three weeks' time to the Union government and the states for filing compliance affidavit in the suo motu case initiated by the court on the issue of CCTVs in police stations.

"We have perused the tabulation chart by the amicus. We find that only 11 states have filed their compliance affidavit. Request has been made by Solicitor General that 3 weeks' time may be granted within which compliance affidavit may be filed. We grant 3 week's time to the states also who have not filed. List again on December 16. If they are not filed by the next date, Principal Secretaries of the department of home shall remain present before this court along with their respective explanations", a Justice Vikram Nath led bench has ordered today.

When the matter was taken up, Amicus and Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave informed court that only 11 states had responded. "Even Union has not responded", Dave added. 

To this Justice Nath said, "Union is taking the court very lightly. Why?". SG Mehta assured court that an affidavit will be filed.

The bench went on to observe, "There were 11 deaths in police stations in 8 months in Rajasthan. Custodial deaths. This will not be tolerated by the country. It is a blot on the system."

Last month, Supreme Court had raised serious concerns over the lack of CCTV cameras in the interrogation rooms of police stations across Rajasthan, emphasizing the human rights implications of such a gap. The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta had further noted that interrogation rooms are the “main place” where CCTV surveillance is essential to ensure transparency and accountability.

The observations were made during the hearing of a suo motu case concerning the lack of functional CCTVs in police stations, reflecting growing judicial scrutiny over police accountability and custodial safeguards in the state.

Previously, on September 26, the Court had directed that specific information on 12 key points be provided by all States and Union Territories within three weeks. The details required include status of CCTV installation, functionality, storage of footage, and monitoring mechanisms.

The Apex Court had initiated a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on the lack of functional CCTV cameras in police stations across the country, following media reports of 11 custodial deaths in 2025. The Bench had taken note of a report published in Dainik Bhaskar highlighting the alarming rise in custodial deaths over the past seven to eight months.

“Based on Dainik Bhaskar, we are directing a suo motu PIL titled Lack of functional CCTVs in police stations, as 11 custodial deaths were reported in 2025 over the past 7–8 months,” Justice Nath had observed. The Court’s intervention marked a significant step towards enforcing compliance with its earlier directions mandating CCTV installation in all police stations to ensure transparency and accountability.

The Dainik Bhaskar report stated, "There have been 11 deaths in police custody in the state within 8 months of 2025. 7 deaths have occurred in Udaipur division. In August, two bullion traders died in Kankroli police station of Rajsamand district and Rishabhdev police station of Udaipur district. Information was sought under RTI in all the cases."

The development came nearly five years after the Supreme Court, in a landmark 2020 judgment delivered by Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, KM Joseph and Aniruddha Bose, had made CCTV installation in all police stations across the country mandatory. In that verdict, the Court had also directed the Union government to install CCTV cameras in the offices of agencies such as the CBI, NIA, ED, NCB, DRI and SFIO, where interrogation of accused persons is carried out. The Bench had further mandated that all CCTV systems must be equipped with night vision and include both audio and video recording. The 2020 judgment had underlined that in the event of custodial violence or death, the victims or their families could approach Human Rights Courts to secure CCTV footage, ensuring accountability. Despite these directions, compliance has remained patchy, with authorities frequently citing non-functional cameras or missing footage when called upon to produce records in cases of custodial violence.

Case Title: In Re: Lack of Functional CCTVs in Police Stations

Hearing Date: November 25, 2025

Bench: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta