Bombay HC Orders Statewide Review Of CCTV Systems In Police Stations

Mumbai, July 16: The Bombay High Court has directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to conduct a statewide review of CCTV systems in police stations across Maharashtra after being informed that footage sought in a case could not be be produced because it had been retained for only six months.

Court Seeks Statewide Review

A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad passed the order on July 15 while hearing a petition filed by Prashant Kokane, who has alleged harassment by officials of Ghatkopar Police Station after he complained about an alleged bogus ration card and sought information under the RTI Act.

Kokane claimed the police initiated chapter proceedings against him with a mala fide intention, pressured him to withdraw his complaints and failed to investigate his allegations. He sought preservation of CCTV footage from the police station between March 17 and March 20, 2025, contending that it would support his case.

The court noted that on June 22, 2026, it had directed Ghatkopar Police Station to preserve the footage relating to the alleged incident. However, the Additional Public Prosecutor informed the Bench, based on instructions from the Senior Police Inspector, that the footage was unavailable because the police station retained CCTV recordings for only six months.

Appearing in person, the petitioner pointed out that he had written to the Senior Police Inspector on April 15, 2025, within a month of the alleged incident, requesting preservation of the footage. The court noted that the application had been received by the police station on the same day.

Court Questions CCTV Retention

Referring to its earlier orders and the Supreme Court's directions on CCTV cameras in police stations, the Bench observed that the State had previously assured the court that CCTV coverage would be expanded and storage capacity increased to preserve recordings for up to 18 months.

“We are aware of the several orders passed by this Court calling upon the State Administration to ensure proper functioning of the CCTV cameras and provide adequate hard disk capacities in order to preserve the data at least for a year,” the Bench observed.

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The High Court directed the DGP to conduct a fact-finding exercise across all police stations in Maharashtra and submit a report on the functioning of CCTV cameras, the period for which recordings are preserved and the steps taken to implement the High Court's 2022 directions.

It also asked the DGP to explain why Ghatkopar Police Station reported that CCTV footage could not be preserved beyond six months. The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 10.

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