Ranchi, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday took a stern view of the state government’s failure to install CCTV cameras in police stations, observing that the situation warranted contempt proceedings against the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP).
Before initiating such action, a division bench headed by Chief Justice M.S. Sonak issued show-cause notices to all three senior officials and sought their responses by October 15, the next date of hearing.
During the hearing, the bench remarked that the state government appeared unwilling to comply with the court’s directions on installing CCTV cameras in police stations. The court also observed that the government was concealing the actual situation through its affidavits and adopting a delaying approach.
The bench noted that more than 450 cases of deaths in police custody had been reported since 2018. Despite this, CCTV cameras had not been installed in police stations, which the court described as highly unfortunate.
The High Court stressed that CCTV surveillance was essential for monitoring incidents including custodial deaths and allegations of police brutality.
The court further noted that the state government had floated four tenders for installing CCTV cameras in police stations, but none had produced any tangible result.
During the hearing, the DGP allegedly attempted to shift responsibility for the matter to the Home Department. The bench termed the approach irresponsible.
The court directed the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and DGP to file their replies to the show-cause notices by October 15. At the previous hearing, the court had also sought a response from the DGP over non-compliance with its order.
The matter stems from an incident involving Tarun Mahto, who contested the 2024 Assembly elections from the Ichagarh constituency. It has been 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.
Mahto’s wife subsequently wrote to the Chief Justice of the High Court alleging custodial brutality. Taking suo motu cognisance of the letter, the court initiated proceedings in the matter.
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