The Delhi High Court on Thursday told the city government and the police to abide by the respective timeline given by them for installing CCTV cameras at police stations and filling up the vacant posts in forensic science labs (FSLs).
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and A.J. Bhambani asked the Delhi Police to adhere to the timeline it has given for installing CCTV cameras at police stations and posts.
The police, represented by Delhi government Senior Standing Counsel Rahul Mehra and Additional Standing Counsel (Criminal) Rajesh Mahajan, told the court that cameras have been installed and are functional at 91 of its stations.
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The affidavit filed by the Delhi Police said that CCTVs will be installed at 54 police stations by December 15. It also said that the work at remaining 57 police stations and 53 police posts will be completed by January 15.
‘Vunerable areas’
The police also told the court that the work of installing CCTV cameras in vulnerable areas in the national capital will be carried out by it and the timeline for it will be placed before the Bench on the next date of hearing.
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Mr. Mehra said that the work related to installing 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras in the entire city for the safety and security of people, especially women, children and the elderly, will be completed in a year’s time.
Advocate Meera Bhatia, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, said that the Delhi Police was not adhering to the timeline given for installation of CCTV cameras.
The Bench also refused to accept the initial schedule indicated by the Delhi government for filling up the posts in FSLs and subsequently, it came back with a revised timeline which the court accepted.
Under the new timeline, 405 additional or new posts in FSLs will be sanctioned by January 31, 2019 and filled up on contractual basis by March 1. Around 32 vacant posts are to be filled up on contractual basis by January 15, the court said, adding that it will ensure quick clearance of backlog of samples for testing.
It further said that for the new posts, within 30 days of being approved, the Delhi government should send a request to the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) to start the process for regular recruitment and the DSSSB has to complete the selection within eight months.
The submissions were made before the Bench in a public interest litigation initiated by it in 2012 following the incident of gang rape of a young woman in a moving bus on December 16. The woman later succumbed to the injuries.