The Delhi High Court is set to hear a Public Interest Litigation seeking directions to make body-worn cameras mandatory for Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed for crowd-control, protest-management and dispersal operations.
The petition, filed by advocate Chahat Raghav, seeks formulation of a binding Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) requiring personnel deployed in such situations to keep body-worn cameras switched on throughout the operation. It also seeks a regulatory framework governing the preservation, storage, retention, integrity and evidentiary use of recordings.
The plea has been moved against the backdrop of the protests at Jantar Mantar in July this year, where footage of incidents involving protesters and police personnel was, in several instances, recorded by members of the public using mobile phones.
The petitioner has contended that body-worn cameras could provide an independent and contemporaneous audiovisual record of interactions between law-enforcement personnel and citizens during volatile crowd-control situations.
According to the plea, such a system would strengthen transparency and accountability while also protecting police personnel against unfounded allegations concerning the use of force. The petitioner has maintained that the objective is not to facilitate indiscriminate surveillance of protesters but to create an authenticated record of police-citizen encounters.
The petition invokes fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(b) and 21 of the Constitution, arguing that a properly regulated body-camera mechanism can promote both the right to peaceful protest and safeguards against excessive use of force.
The plea also distinguishes body-worn cameras from broader surveillance technologies. It argues that cameras worn by individual personnel can capture events from the perspective of the officer involved, unlike fixed surveillance systems or cameras positioned away from the immediate interaction.
The petitioner has referred to existing legal and administrative mechanisms concerning audiovisual recording. Reliance has also been placed on Supreme Court observations concerning body-worn cameras and provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, relating to audio-video recording during specified investigative procedures.
The plea further refers to a 2022 Delhi Police Standing Order concerning regulation of rallies and processions, which provides for videography of protest-related policing through third parties. The petitioner, however, has argued that third-party recording may not adequately capture the sequence of events from the standpoint of personnel directly engaged in crowd-control operations.
The petition also points to steps reportedly undertaken by Delhi Police towards procuring body-worn cameras. According to the plea, a tender has been floated through the Government e-Marketplace for the procurement of 1,500 such cameras at an estimated cost of approximately ₹7.4 crore.
The July 2026 Jantar Mantar protests form a significant part of the petitioner’s case. The plea refers to the events of July 21 and alleges that force was used during the deployment of Delhi Police and RAF personnel. It also notes that publicly available recordings showed injuries to both protesters and police personnel.
The petitioner has further referred to a subsequent review meeting in which, according to the plea, the Inspector General of the RAF acknowledged that certain force used during the deployment was inconsistent with prescribed standards. These allegations are, however, matters raised by the petitioner and remain subject to judicial consideration.
The PIL seeks a comprehensive framework specifying when body cameras must be activated, how recordings are to be secured, the period for which footage must be retained and the manner in which the material can be accessed or relied upon as evidence.
The petitioner has argued that preservation of such footage would be particularly important where competing allegations arise regarding the conduct of police personnel and protesters, enabling investigating agencies and courts to examine events on the basis of contemporaneous audiovisual material.
The respondents include the Union Government, Commissioner of Delhi Police, Director General of the CRPF and the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
The petition ultimately seeks to institutionalise body-worn cameras as an accountability mechanism during crowd-control operations, with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the technology serves both public accountability and the rights of law-enforcement personnel and protesters.
The post Delhi High Court to Hear PIL seeking mandatory body-worn cameras for police, RAF during protest duties appeared first on India Legal.