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The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state police to ensure that CCTV cameras with audio recording are installed in every room of all police stations within the next three months.

In an order dated October 21, a single bench of Justice GS Ahluwalia, hearing a case of police brutality, issued directions to the director general of police (DGP), saying that any black spot in police stations would attract in future court recusal proceedings against the officers concerned.

The court’s verdict came after hearing a writ petition filed by Akhilesh Pandey, a resident of Anuppur district and a manager at a local factory, who alleged that he was illegally detained by the police at Bhalumada station in September 2023 due to a dispute between villagers and factory management.

Mr. Pandey, in his petition, claimed that on September 17, 2023, locals stopped trucks and went to the spot. He said the police picked him up and he was “badly beaten” in a room that had no CCTV cameras. The petitioner had obtained various CCTV footage from other places in the station using the Right to Information Act.

“The petitioner was deliberately taken to a room because he did not have a CCTV camera. Therefore, it is clear that the police personnel intended to hide their illegal activities of assaulting the petitioner in a police station,” the court said, while noting that Mr. Pandey was unable to stand when he was taken out. of the station, as seen in one of the videos.

“The Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh is therefore directed to ensure that every police station room is equipped with a CCTV camera with audio facility. The DGP is directed to immediately call for a report from every Superintendent of Police in every district as to whether any room or space in any police station in their jurisdiction has any black spot and should ensure that every room and every space in within the Police Station is equipped with CCTV Cameras within three months from today,” the court said, directing the DGP to ensure that he gets a status from each district within a month.

The High Court also asked the DGP to submit a completion report to the court before February 18, 2025.

In his order, Justice Ahluwalia also imposed penalties ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹40,000 on the accused police personnel. He directed the DGP to transfer all personnel from Bhalumada station at the time of the incident to locations more than 900 km away.

“As Anuppur is a border district, so the distance of 900 km has been consciously fixed so that they remain at a distance and in different places so that they cannot hatch conspiracies and manipulate the official record. That the entire police personnel be transferred within 10 days from today (October 21),” the order said.

The court made strong observations on the police station, saying, “It is clear that the police authorities, instead of correcting their house, protected the police personnel who are prima facie guilty of committing police atrocities on the petitioner, who was in arrest. of the police. So it’s clear that the entire staff is out to destroy evidence and try to manipulate things. This attempt by senior police officers to protect the offender is a very serious matter.”

It also ordered a criminal case against a doctor who created a “false and fabricated MLC” that did not show injuries on Mr. Pandey’s body.