Information Commission orders police station video footage be given to appellant
The Karnataka Information Commission has ordered police stations to provide CCTV footage to an appellant under the Right to Information Act. The commission also initiated disciplinary action against a senior police official for failing to process the request correctly.
Why it matters
This case reinforces the transparency and accountability of law enforcement agencies under RTI laws, setting a precedent for public access to government surveillance records.
In an interesting case, the Karnataka Information Commission has ordered that video footage from the CCTV cameras installed at a police station be furnished to an appellant.
Nagaraju M.R. of Malavalli had filed an application under the Right to Information Act before the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) concerned on August 4, 2022, seeking CCTV footage of Malavalli Town and Rural police stations from October 10, 2021, to March 31, 2022, in connection with the investigation of a case involving him.
However, the station officers of both stations had refused to hand over the CCTV footage to him. Although the DySP was required by law to transfer the application to the appropriate public authority, as the matter did not fall under his jurisdiction, he had failed to do so.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in