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The Delhi High Court recently observed that while installation of CCTV camera’s without a person's consent may be objectionable, it does not prove a person to be of unsound mind.

The observation was made by a single judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta while hearing a plea challenging summons issued to the petitioner in a defamation case.

The petitioner was summoned in the case on the basis of a letter written by them to the Institute of Cost Accountants, claiming that the respondent was a person of disreputable character and unsound mind.

When the Court raised a query to the counsel for the petitioner as to the basis of the claim, the court was informed that the respondent had gotten installed a CCTV camera in the peitioner's bedroom without their knowledge.

Dismissing the plea, Justice Gupta said, “The said act of Respondent No.1 may have been highly objectionable and unwarranted however, the same does not show that Respondent No.1 is a person of unsound mind. “

The Court then said that, “Considering the language used against the Respondent No.1 in the complaint dated 22 nd June, 2019 by the petitioner to the Returning Officer of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, this Court finds no error in the impugned order.”

Case Title: Sangeeta Pokhriyal v Maneesh Kandpal & Anr.

Edited by Shreya Agarwal