Mohd Mukeem v. State of Uttarakhand

SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar's order with Signatures COURT'S OR JUDGE'S ORDERS

WPCRL/1325/2026

Mohd Mukeem --Petitioner Versus State Of Uttarakhand --Respondent

Hon'ble Alok Mahra, J.

Mr. Gaurav Pawar, Advocate, holding brief of Mrs. Prabha Naithani, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Dinesh Chauhan, Mr. N.S. Kanyal and Mr. Pramod Tewari Bhatt, A.G.A. for the State of Uttarakhand.

¶2Petitioner has approached this Court seeking the following reliefs:

"a) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondent authorities to immediately preserve, secure and produce the complete CCTV footage of Police Station Bhagwanpur, District Haridwar, Bhagwanpur-Sikroda Road, Bhagwanpur Highway/Dehradun Road, Bhagwanpur Toll Plaza and all adjoining locations for the relevant period from 09.06.2026 to 10.06.2026. Annexure no.1 Page no. 18-19.

b) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to preserve and produce the Call Detail Records (CDR), tower location data, subscriber details and other electronic records relating to mobile No. 9103646806 of Talib and other relevant mobile numbers connected with the incident."

¶3Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has already submitted an application before respondent no.2 requesting preservation

of the CCTV footage, however, the said application is still pending consideration.

¶4After arguing the matter at some length, learned counsel for the petitioner confines his prayer and submits that respondent authorities be directed to preserve and secure the complete CCTV footage of Police Station Bhagwanpur, District Haridwar and also of Bhagwanpur Toll Plaza for the period from 09.06.2026 to 10.06.2026.

¶5In support of his submissions, learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Paramvir Singh Saini Vs. Baljit Singh and Others, reported in (2021) 1 SCC 184, wherein directions have been issued to the State Level Oversight Committee (SLOC) and the Central Oversight Body (COB), wherever applicable, to ensure that all police stations investigating/enforcement agencies prominently display information regarding CCTV surveillance and that the CCTV footage is preserved for a minimum period of six months, with the victim having a right to seek preservation of such footage in cases involving violation of human rights. Paragraph no.21 of the said judgment reads as under:

"21. The SLOC and the COB (where applicable) shall give directions to all police stations, investigative/enforcement agencies to prominently display at the entrance and inside the police stations/ offices of investigative/ enforcement agencies about the coverage of the premises concerned by CCTV. This shall be done by large posters in English, Hindi and vernacular language. In addition to the above, it shall be clearly mentioned therein that a person has a right to complain about human rights violations to the National/State Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Court or the Superintendent of Police or any other authority empowered to take

cognizance of an offence. It shall further mention that CCTV footage is preserved for a certain minimum time period, which shall not be less than six months, and the victim has a right to have the same secured in the event of violation of his human rights."

¶6Learned counsel for the petitioner has further drawn the attention of this Court to paragraph nos.16 and 17 of the aforesaid judgment, wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed all the States Union Territories to ensure installation of CCTV cameras in every police station and at all vulnerable locations within the police station premises so that area remains uncovered. Hon'ble Supreme Court has further directed that the CCTV systems must be equipped with night vision as well as audio and video recording facilities and that the recordings should be preserved for the maximum possible period, ordinarily not less than one year and, wherever feasible, up to eighteen months. Paragraph nos.16 and 17 of aforesaid judgment are extracted below:

"16. The State and Union Territory Governments should ensure that CCTV cameras are installed in each and every police station functioning in the respective State and/or Union Territory. Further, in order to ensure that no part of a police station is left uncovered, it is imperative to ensure that CCTV cameras are installed at all entry and exit points; main gate of the police station; all lock-ups; all corridors; lobby/the reception area; all verandahs/outhouses, Inspector's room; Sub-Inspector's room; areas outside the lock-up room; station hall; in front of the police station compound; outside (not inside) washrooms/toilets; Duty Officer's room; back part of the police station, etc.

¶17CCTV systems that have to be installed must be equipped with night vision must necessarily consist of audio as well as video footage. In areas in which there is either no electricity and/or internet, it shall be the duty of

the States/Union Territories to provide the same as expeditiously as possible using any mode of providing electricity, including solar/wind power. The internet systems that are provided must also be systems which provide clear image resolutions and audio. Most important of all is the storage of CCTV camera footage which can be done in digital video recorders and/or network video recorders. CCTV cameras must then be installed with such recording systems so that the data that is stored thereon shall be preserved for a period of 18 months. If the recording equipment, available in the market today, does not have the capacity to keep the recording for 18 months but for a lesser period of time, it shall be mandatory for all States, Union Territories and the Central Government to purchase one which allows storage for the maximum period possible, and, in any case, not below 1 year. It is also made clear that this will be reviewed by all the States so as to purchase equipment which is able to store the data for 18 months as soon as it is commercially available in the market. The affidavit of compliance to be filed by all States and Union Territories and Central Government shall clearly indicate that the best equipment available as of date has been purchased."

¶7Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner upon perusal of the material available on record, this Court finds that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Paramvir Singh Saini (supra) has emphasized the necessity of preservation of CCTV footage and has recognized the right of an aggrieved person to seek preservation of such footage in appropriate cases.

¶8In view of the aforesaid and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the petitioner's allegations, the Station House Officer, Police Station Bhagwanpur, District Haridwar is directed to secure the compete CCTV footage of Police Station Bhagwanpur, District Haridwar and also the CCTV footage of Bhagwanpur Toll Plaza pertaining to the period from

09.06.2026 to 10.06.2026, in accordance with law, so that it may be produced before the competent authority or Court, if so required.

¶9It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion with regard to the petitioner's entitlement to obtain a copy of the CCTV footage, and the same shall be governed by the applicable statutory provisions and the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

¶10With the aforesaid observations and directions, the present Criminal Writ Petition stands disposed of.

(Alok Mahra, J.)

14.07.2026 Arpan

ARPAN JAISWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND,

2.5.4.20=eabb68a3895e41937c266c23964c0485365445 e3a20dddb7393398f9fe45ba3e, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=060FC17022BEAE3DE215D68D9D454C51 09CB987446351E4DF04AADAA2C2CEA66, cn=ARPAN JAISWAL Date: 2026.07.14 16:33:26 +05'30'