Ranchi, Sep 24 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court has taken a stern view of the state government’s failure to install CCTV cameras in police stations and observed that the matter warrants contempt proceedings against the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, and the Director General of Police (DGP).
Before initiating such action, the court issued show-cause notices to all three senior officials on Thursday.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice M.S. Sonak remarked during the hearing that the state government appeared unwilling to comply with the court’s directions regarding the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations.
The bench observed that the government was concealing the actual situation in its affidavits and adopting a delaying approach. In such circumstances, the court said, it had little option but to consider contempt proceedings against the three senior officers.
The court further noted that more than 450 cases of deaths in police custody have been reported since 2018. Despite this, CCTV cameras have not been installed in police stations, which it described as highly unfortunate.
The bench stressed that CCTV surveillance is essential to monitor incidents such as custodial deaths and alleged police brutality.
The High Court said that four tenders had been floated for the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations, but none had yielded any tangible result.
It also observed that during the hearing, the DGP attempted to shift responsibility for the matter to the Home Department, calling the approach irresponsible.
The court fixed October 15 as the next date of hearing and directed the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, and the DGP to file their responses to the show-cause notices by then.
During the previous hearing as well, the court had sought a response from the DGP over non-compliance with its order.
The matter stems from an incident involving Tarun Mahto, who had contested the 2024 Assembly elections from the Ichagarh constituency. It is alleged that police picked him up on the night of November 19, 2025, and took him to a police station, where he was subjected to severe assault while in custody.
His wife later wrote to the Chief Justice of the High Court regarding the alleged custodial brutality.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the letter, the court initiated proceedings in the case.
–IANS
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