Ranchi, Oct 6 (PTI) The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the state police chief and home secretary to appear before it through video conference over non-operational CCTV cameras at a police station here, which came to light while hearing a case of a minor’s alleged illegal detention.
Hearing a plea filed by Feroz Ansari, alleging his minor son was illegally detained at the Doranda Police Station after being picked up on September 4, a division bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Akhil Kumar expressed its displeasure over non-operational CCTV cameras despite several earlier directions by the court.
In the habeas corpus petition, Ansari claimed that he had produced his son’s birth certificate to establish that he was a minor, but police allegedly refused to accept it and recorded his age as 19 years.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the bench directed the officer-in-charge of the Doranda Police Station to produce the CCTV footage from September 4. However, the police officer informed the court that CCTV cameras at the police station were not functioning.
The bench expressed its displeasure over the submission and observed that surveillance cameras should remain operational at all police stations, roads and major points across the city. It also noted that despite several earlier directions, CCTV cameras at police stations had still not been made operational.
Taking serious note of the matter, the bench directed Director General of Police (DGP) Tadasha Mishra and Home Secretary Vandana Dadel to appear before it through video conference on October 12, the next date of hearing in the matter.
On September 24, the high court issued contempt notices to the DGP and home secretary for alleged non-compliance with its order to install CCTV cameras in police stations across the state.
A division bench of Chief Justice M S Sonak and Justice Manoj Prasad had earlier directed the state government to ensure camera installation at all police stations and set December 31, 2025, as the deadline.
The court had noted the government repeatedly sought adjournments, but did not comply with the order.
The bench had also observed that the government floated tenders four times but cancelled them for one reason or another. It had warned that it would pass “harsh orders” if state officials failed to perform their duties.
Advocate General Rohitashya Roy had said tenders have been floated to select companies for installation of CCTV cameras in police stations. PTI COR NAM NSD
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