Video recording of CJP protest necessary for security reasons: Govt to Delhi HC
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Friday told the Delhi High Court that video recording of the ongoing CJP-led protest over the NEET paper leak at
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Friday told the Delhi High Court that video recording of the ongoing CJP-led protest over the NEET paper leak at Jantar Mantar was in the "legitimate state interest" and necessary for security reasons. He said it was "ironic" for protesters to claim privacy in a public place. The court was hearing a plea filed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh against the Centre and the Delhi Police, alleging "continuous, indiscriminate and intrusive surveillance" at the protest site. A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said it would hear the matter on July 27. Read Full Story Responding to the plea, Mehta said influencers and others from social media were also making videos and taking interviews at the site, and that the CJP itself had asked protesters to "videograph everything".
"It is ironic that they are claiming privacy in a public place. Police are conducting videography in legitimate state interest. It is necessary for security reasons," he said. Senior counsel Nandita Rao, appearing for the petitioner, said the State's actions could not be equated with those of private individuals. "Citizens are different. State is on a much higher pedestal," she said. Rao alleged that the protest site was under CCTV surveillance and that private conversations of protesters were also being recorded. She said the right to privacy was not given up in public spaces, and raised concerns over police personnel in civil dress recording videos and the alleged use of facial recognition technology to identify protesters. Referring to the Delhi Police's standard operating procedure, Rao said there had to be a protocol to regulate the video-recording of protesters, including how long such material could be stored by the authorities.
As she urged the court to ask the Centre to file its response, the bench said, "There are issues and issues. We need to make up our mind first. We will have it on Monday." The court then posted the matter for July 27. On July 20, Mehta had told the court that video-recording of the protest was not for "snooping" but for law and order purposes, and that protests were always videographed. Rao had argued that the authorities were carrying out "intrusive" surveillance of student protesters at Jantar Mantar, which was not sustainable in law. The Cockroach Janta Party has been holding the protest at Jantar Mantar since June 20, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in examinations, including NEET. Filed through lawyer Subhash Chandran K R, the plea has sought a declaration that "continuous and intrusive mass surveillance" of peaceful protesters is constitutionally impermissible and disproportionate, and cannot be justified in the name of public order or national security.
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