Supreme Court orders installation of CCTVs in courts

Source:- asianage.com

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that every high court should ensure installation of CCTV cameras (without audio recording) inside courtrooms.

This must be done in at least two districts in every state and Union Territory.

A bench of Justices A.K. Goel and Uday Lalit said that the districts will be selected by the high courts. The installation of CCTV cameras should be completed within three months, it said.

The registrar general of the high courts have been asked to submit a report on the working of the CCTV cameras within one month after they have been installed.

The bench, however, said that recordings through the CCTV cameras will only remain in the custody of high courts and will not be made available to anyone without the permission of the high court.

It has also been made clear by the top court that the cameras installed inside the courtroom will be restricted to video recording and will not include audio recording.

The bench passed the order after taking in views of the Centre represented by additional solicitor general Maninder Singh and senior advocate Venkataramani who sought their installation.