The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Delhi government to consider the suggestion of an advocate for providing body cameras to police officials to monitor their conduct as also of the public.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar asked the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Delhi government and Delhi Police to consider the representation given by advocate and social activist Amit Sahni and take a decision on it.
Mr. Sahni, in his plea, sought direction to the police to curb excess use of force and maintain cordial relation with the public following an alleged assault by the police on a tempo driver and his son in city’s Mukherjee Nagar.
In his petition, he suggested that body cameras be provided to police officers to monitor and ensure proper conduct, behaviour of officials as well as public and to ensure foolproof and transparent prosecution in case of any violation.
The petition said the courts, while dealing with brutality of police in various judgments, have observed that the object of the police is to control the situation and not to punish the person at the spot.
“Police brutality is a civil rights violation that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using an amount of force with regards to a civilian that is more than necessary,” he added.
Mr. Sahni said body-worn cameras with audio and video options are used by police officers in the US. He claimed that the police in various cities like Gurugram, Ahmedabad, CISF personnel at the Delhi Airport etc. have been using body-worn cameras to check the behaviour of police officers and public dealing with them.
