The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the fact that out of the total 1,089 police stations in Maharashtra only 547 were equipped with CCTV cameras, as ordered by the Supreme Court. The HC went to the extent of saying that it appears the Rs 60 crore allocated by the government for installing CCTV cameras, have been wasted.
A bench of Justices Shahrukh Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav was irked to note that only 6,092 cameras were installed in these 547 police stations and of these only 5,639 CCTVs were functional and 453 were not working at all.
The data was submitted by the state on an affidavit filed pursuant to earlier orders passed by the bench after it had noted in a case that most police officers avoid giving the recorded footages of CCTV cameras and usually give the excuse that these aren't working.
Perusing the affidavit, the bench expressed dissatisfaction with the document as "it was devoid of the relevant particulars sought by the judges.
"We see that an action has been taken after this Court passed the order. Are we supposed to run the administration, spoon-feed them? Whatever we have stated (in the order) has been reproduced in the ‘Paripatrak’ (directions issued) by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)", Justice Jadhav observed.
Further, Justice Kathawalla remarked, "Every day, the common man goes to the police station thinking that the Supreme Court guidelines are being followed. And we do not know what is happening to the Rs 60 crore allocated by the state for CCTV installation project."
The bench was further irked over the submission by the state counsel that the report of the ADGP (on CCTV data) was prepared after the Court's earlier orders.
To this, Justice Kathawalla said, "It, therefore, appears that the Planning and Co-ordination department only functions after Court passes an order."
Justice Jadhav also wondered as to how the state had approximately spent about Rs 6 lakh per police station for installing CCTVs cameras.
"I have got CCTVs in my house, but I have not spent more than Rs 35,000 for that." Justice Jadhav said, adding that the recording period of these CCTVs wasn't in conformity with the directives of the top court.
"It seems they don’t want it to be recorded. They don't want to show to any courts or authority what is happening in police stations," Justice Kathawalla remarked adding, "This is all a farce, and they do not want the courts to know. Rs 60 crore wasted."
Accordingly, the bench adjourned the hearing till Monday with a directive to Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to provide an "active assistance" to the Court.
