11 Custodial Deaths in 2025: SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance on Non-Functional CCTVs in Police Stations
Custodial Death, Police Station, CCTV Cameras
The Supreme Court on Thursday 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 of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta took 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 observed while passing the order.
The Court’s intervention marks 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 states, "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 comes 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.
Hearing Date: September 4, 2025
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta