New Delhi, 07 October (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has declined to direct Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed for crowd control or handling protests to wear body cameras at all times. A Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Vasudev Sambre directed the government to treat the petition as a representation.

The High Court directed the government to decide within six months whether a standard operating procedure (SOP) should be formulated on the issue. The court said that if the petitioner remained dissatisfied with the government’s response or inaction, they would be at liberty to approach the court again.

During the hearing, senior advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, requested the court to prescribe a shorter deadline for the government to take action.

The court observed that when the matter concerns surveillance, most such issues fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. “When it comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, you can understand the workload,” the court observed.

The petition was filed by Chahat Raghav, who stated that the petitioner had been present during protests held at Jantar Mantar in July. Clashes broke out during the demonstrations, in which student protesters as well as more than 50 police and paramilitary personnel were injured.

The petitioner alleged that excessive force had been used during the protests. The incidents cited included a lathi charge, injuries caused by pellet guns and an incident in which a woman protester was allegedly slapped by an officer.

The petition further submitted that these incidents were not recorded by government agencies but by people present in the vicinity. During the hearing, Sibal told the court that Delhi Police’s existing system is almost entirely dependent on external videographers, who are positioned along the outer perimeter of the area.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar