If Any Police Station Left Outside Coverage Area Of CCTV Camera, Such Lapse Shall Be Considered As Contempt Of Court (S.P. and SHO liable) Madhya Pradesh HC
{Akhilesh Pandey v. The State Of Madhya Pradesh, 2024}
🌟 Landmark judgments on CCTV in police stations
- D. K. Basu v. West Bengal, 2015
The State Governments shall also consider installation of CCTV cameras in police stations in a phased manner depending upon the incidents of human rights violation reported in such stations. - Shafhi Mohammad v. State of Himachal Pradesh, 2018
CCTV to be installed in every police station and videography in investigation. - Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh, 2021
various directions issued to implement CCTV installation.
{Both 2 and 3 dealt with oversight committee to study and make reports on cctv footage}
❓ Question—
A police officer pleads defence on encounter killing saying that order of superior officer is binding on us.
🅰️nswer-
Prakash Kadam v. Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta, 2011
We warn policemen that they will not be excused for committing murder in the name of “encounter” on the pretext that they were carrying out the orders of their superior officers or politicians, however high. In the Nuremburg trials the Nazi war criminals took the plea that “orders are orders” nevertheless they were hanged. If a policeman is given an illegal order by any superior to do a fake “encounter”, it is his duty to refuse to carry out such illegal order, otherwise he will be charged for murder, and if found guilty sentenced to death.
🇮🇳👨⚖️ Matsanyaya (Mahabharata, Kautilya, Shatapatha Brahmana)
(Big fish eating small)
✓ Kautilya- “if danda be not employed, it gives rise to the condition of matsyanyaya, since in the absence of a chastiser the strong devour the weak”. That in the absence of a king (arajaka) or when there is no fear of punishment then condition of matsyanyaya follows.
✓ Shantiparva of Mahabharata Bhisma Pitamah tells Yudhishthir that there is nothing worse in the world than lawlessness, for in a state of matsyanyaya, nobody, not even the evil doers are safe, because even the evil doers will sooner or later be swallowed up by other evil doers.
⚔️ Sentencing and Punishment theory to Police officials.
Yashwant v. State of Maharashtra, 2018
wherein this Court laid down that when the police is violator of the law whose primary responsibility is to protect the law, the punishment for such violation has to be proportionately stringent so as to have effective deterrent effect and instil confidence in the society.