Supreme Court Orders Preservation of CCTV Footage in Delhi Protest Cases

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed all law enforcement agencies to preserve CCTV footage and other digital material collected in connection with recent protests in Delhi. The order covers recordings held by police and paramilitary forces as well as material that private parties may submit. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the direction after counsel requested that evidence be safeguarded.

The court also issued notice on a petition challenging the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. The Union government and the Delhi Police Commissioner were asked to file replies. Separate notices were issued on pleas filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition figures concerning the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Chief Justice noted that issuing notice did not amount to condoning any conduct and that Gandhi would need to explain his actions during the 12 October events.

Forty-six cases and applications related to the protests, alleged detentions, restrictions on movement, and the SIR process were before the court. Counsel submitted a chart distinguishing matters that concerned the protests from those that concerned the electoral-roll revision. The bench indicated that overlapping petitions could be handled through nodal counsel appointed by both sides. It also asked the government to place on record the Section 163 prohibitory orders issued during the period.

The hearings follow demonstrations on 10–12 October that included protests against the Chief Election Commissioner and attempts to gather at Jantar Mantar after the site’s status as a protest venue was withdrawn. Earlier court orders had addressed metro and railway restrictions during the demonstrations. Senior advocates raised concerns about the treatment of women journalists and about alleged excesses. The court has not yet passed substantive directions on the merits of the detentions or the de-notification; the immediate step is the preservation of video evidence.

The order applies to all agencies that collected footage. Private parties are free to retain and later produce their own recordings. The matter is expected to return once the government files its responses. No timeline for the next hearing was fixed in open court on Thursday.