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Pradyuman Bisht vs. Union of India & Ors.

Not available · 2023 INSC 706Decided 11 Aug 2023
Not available
S. Ravindra Bhat · Dipankar Datta

Background

This is a long-running public interest writ petition, originally filed in 2015, seeking installation of CCTV cameras and other security measures in court complexes across India, along with audio-visual facilities for recording evidence during trials. The Court was hearing it afresh in the wake of recent gunfire incidents inside Delhi court premises and the death of a Jharkhand judicial officer in a suspicious road accident, which renewed concern about the safety of judges, lawyers, litigants and staff. A contempt petition alleging non-compliance with the Court's earlier orders on CCTV installation was also pending alongside several connected matters. An amicus curiae had prepared a detailed report after consulting High Courts and other stakeholders.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court issued a fresh, detailed set of guidelines to be implemented by every High Court, since earlier directions on the same subject had not been timely enforced. These included preparing a court-specific security plan in consultation with State Home Departments and police, setting up permanent Court Security Units, mandatory CCTV installation (including as an integral part of new court construction), securing entry-exit points with frisking, scanners and monitored access, regulating shops/vendors inside court premises, and ensuring immediate availability of ambulances and firefighting services. It also pushed for digitisation (live-streaming, video-conferencing facilities for recording evidence, and e-Sewa Kendras in remote areas) and left it to each High Court's Chief Justice to decide which committee should implement these measures. High Courts were directed to file preliminary action-taken reports by 10 October 2023, with the matter listed again for further monitoring.

Lesson Learnt

Court safety is treated by the Supreme Court as a matter of ongoing judicial oversight, not a one-time order: citizens and lawyers can expect a continuing push toward better-secured, better-monitored court complexes nationwide, though implementation depends on individual High Courts and State Governments actually following through.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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