Delhi HC asks Delhi govt to respond to plea challenging decision to install CCTV cameras in classrooms

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought the response of the Delhi government on a plea challenging its decision to install CCTV cameras in classrooms of government schools and live streaming of such video footage to third persons. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi government, Department of Education, Directorate of Education, and Public Works Department on the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on March 30.

The petition filed by Delhi Parents Association and Government School Teachers’ Association has sought to quash two cabinet decisions of September 11, 2017, and December 11, 2017, by the Delhi government for installation of Closed Circuit Televisions (CCTV) cameras inside classrooms of government schools and the consequent live-streaming of such video footage to third persons. Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, appearing for the petitioner associations, also sought to set aside two circulars of November 18, 2019, issued by the Directorate of Education authorising the installation of CCTV cameras in schools that are directly administered by the Delhi government.

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Expressing concern over the privacy of students and preservation of their dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution, the associations approached the high court and said that the installation of CCTV cameras and consequent live-streaming of footage to unauthorised persons would infringe upon the students' right to privacy. The plea said the installation of CCTV cameras inside classrooms, without obtaining specific consent from either the students and their parents and teachers is a gross and direct violation of the fundamental right to privacy.

“The act of live-streaming footage, similarly without specific consent, is a further violation of the fundamental right to privacy. In the complete absence of a data protection regime or any other statutory-regulatory framework to protect citizens’ data, the twin acts of obtaining and then storing children’s data on private computer servers are fraught with danger and are thus also violative of the fundamental right to privacy,” the plea said.

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It said the petitioners are directly affected by the government’s decisions as they transgress not only their fundamental rights but also those of the students they teach and the parents are deeply concerned about the safety and privacy of their wards. “Their fears are further compounded by the present-day reality of morphing and abuse of video footage as also its possible dissemination on social media and the Internet at large,” it said, adding that this warrants the urgent intervention of the court.

The petition sought direction from the authorities to remove CCTV cameras installed in the classrooms in government schools across Delhi and to destroy the video data collected from the CCTV cameras. It further sought to direct the Delhi government to frame binding regulations qua the data collected from the CCTV cameras installed only in permissible places in schools, except classrooms.