The commission has directed the State police authorities to ensure that CCTV cameras in all police stations remain functional and that recording systems have adequate storage capacity to preserve footage for 18 months.
The case arose from an RTI application filed by Pavan Kumar at the Sirwar Police Station on June 4, 2022, seeking CCTV footage recorded on June 1, 2022 between 7.45 p.m. and 11.50 p.m.
According to the commission’s order, the information sought was related to life and personal liberty and should have been provided within 48 hours under the relevant provisions of the RTI Act. However, then sub-inspector Geethanjali Shinde issued a reply nearly two months later, on August 13, 2022, stating that the information sought fell under Section 8(1)(j) of the Act.
The applicant subsequently approached the Kalaburagi Bench in a second appeal. The commission ordered the police to provide the requested CCTV footage. However, the order was not complied with, following which the commission imposed penalties of ₹25,000 on Ms. Shinde, ₹15,000 on Avinash Kambale and ₹25,000 on Guruchandra Yadav, who had served as sub-inspectors at the station during the relevant period.
Although the three officials paid the penalties, the CCTV footage was still not provided, prompting State Information Commissioner (Kalaburagi Bench) B. Venkata Singh to recommend appropriate disciplinary action against them.
Subsequently, sub-inspector Basanagouda, who was posted to the Sirwar Police Station, wrote to the Superintendent of Police seeking technical assistance to retrieve the footage. A technical team inspected the hard disk at the station on January 2, 2025, and reported that it contained CCTV recordings for only 15 months and that recordings prior to that period were unavailable.
The commission held that the failure to provide the information within the stipulated period, coupled with the failure to preserve the CCTV footage in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions, warranted disciplinary action. Notices under Rule 7 of the relevant police service rules have since been issued, and the Superintendents of Police of Raichur, Ballari and Vijayanagara districts have initiated action, according to the commission.
The commission has directed the three district police chiefs to submit compliance reports on the action taken.
In view of the continuing requirement to preserve CCTV footage in police stations, the commission has also directed Director-General and Inspector-General of Police M.S. Saleem to take steps to ensure that all police stations in the State have CCTV systems in working condition and hard disks with sufficient storage capacity to retain recordings for 18 months, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.