Delhi: SC refuses to put stay on installation of CCTV cameras in govt schools

The Supreme Court on Friday once again refused to put an interim stay on the installation of CCTV cameras in government schools in Delhi.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices Deepak Gupta and Justice Aniruddha Bose had earlier in May refused to the pass an interim order to stay the Delhi government's decision to install 1.5 lakh CCTV cameras and issued a notice to the government.

Petitioner Amber Tickoo, a third-year law student at National Law University, through advocate Jai Dehadrai had sought directions to the government to install CCTV cameras in classrooms and live-streaming the feeds to the parents of the children.

The petitioner told the court that the government did not take the permission of parents and teachers before taking the decision and submitted that the cameras would "live-stream footage of adolescent students to random strangers".

"Providing a live feed to anyone with a user ID and password jeopardizes the safety and security of young girls... and shall directly give rise to incidents of stalking and voyeurism," the petition said.

The government's move violates the fundamental right to privacy, it argued.

"The decision was in direct contravention to the verdict of the Supreme Court which has unequivocally upheld that Right to Privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the petition added.

It added that no steps have been taken to protect the data recorded by the CCTV cameras and the data is prone to hacking and poses a serious threat to the privacy and security of the children as well as teachers.