The Tripura High Court has directed the state authorities to implement in letter and spirit the Supreme Court's directions on installation and functioning of CCTV cameras in police stations, making the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of each police station responsible for their working, maintenance and recording.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit issued the direction while disposing of a criminal writ petition filed by Ratna Roy. The judgment was pronounced on Thursday.

“The Officer-in-Charge of P.S. has to be made responsible for the CCTV data maintenance, backup of data, fault rectification, etc.” the order reads.  

The High Court's direction assumes significance in the context of its observation that CCTV footage had enabled it to intervene effectively in the petitioner's case, while in another matter related to an assault at a police station, footage was unavailable as the CCTV system had reportedly remained non-functional around the time of the incident.

The court referred to the Supreme Court's 2020 judgment in Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh and Others, which laid down directions for CCTV coverage of police stations and made the Station House Officer responsible for the working, maintenance and recording of the systems.

Reiterating those directions, the High Court said the respondents must not only install CCTVs in police stations as directed by the Supreme Court but also make the Officer-in-Charge of the concerned police station responsible for their functioning, maintenance and recording.

“We therefore direct that the said directions of the Supreme Court in Paramvir Singh Saini (1 Supra) shall be implemented in letter and spirit by the respondents, who shall not only install CCTVs in the police stations as directed in the said judgment, but also make the Officer-in-Charge of the police station concerned responsible for their working, maintenance and recording,” the court ruled.  

The court further directed that if CCTV cameras at a police station are not functioning, the Officer-in-Charge must inform the District Level Oversight Committee (DLOC), headed by the Divisional Commissioner and others, about arrests and interrogations carried out at the police station during the period of non-functioning and forward the relevant record to the committee without fail.

The DLOC, upon receiving such information, must immediately request the State Level Oversight Committee (SLOC) for repair or purchase of equipment, the court directed.

The directions were issued against the backdrop of the court's proceedings in Ratna Roy's petition concerning an incident on April 4 and 5, 2026, in which her son Saikat Saha was allegedly forcibly taken to East Agartala Police Station and assaulted, humiliated and tortured. The court had earlier ordered seizure of CCTV footage and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

According to the judgment, the SIT's report prima facie confirmed the allegations against Rabindranath Ghosh and Joy Debnath. The services of the two appeared to have been terminated subsequently and a charge sheet was filed against them. Police personnel at the station were also placed under suspension and departmental proceedings initiated, the court noted.

The writ petition was disposed of with the reiteration of the earlier orders and the fresh directions on CCTV functioning.