Karnataka High Court asks police to consider using “body cameras” during arrests

Karnataka high court was hearing a case where a law student had sought Rs 25 lakh compensation from the Karnataka government after police allegedly humiliated him by handcuffing him and taking him in a public bus after his arrest in a cheque bounce case.

• Compensation allowed: The high court has directed the state “to pay a sum of Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the petitioner within a period of six weeks” on receipt of the June 10 court order.
• Government’s plea : The government’s contention that “the handcuffing of the petitioner was resorted to since there were not enough police personnel to safeguard and prevent the escape, if any, is no excuse at all”, the high court said. “It is for the state to equip all police stations with adequate and necessary police personnel required for the purpose of discharge of duties and obligations of the state,” the single judge of the Dharwad bench of the high court noted in his order.
• Directions for Body Cam: The high court has also asked the state police chief to make efforts to provide body cameras to all officers carrying out arrests in order to have a record of the arrest. “The director general of police shall also endeavour to make available body cameras to all the police officers entitled to arrest a person so that the manner of arrest is recorded by such body cameras,” the high court has stated in its order.
• Petition for Body Cams for Traffic Personals: Earlier the High Court of Karnataka directed the State Government to strictly implement the smart traffic management system in Bengaluru city and ensure that body-worn cameras, procured for traffic management, are used by the traffic police on duty.
• PIL on body Cam: The High Court was also hearing PIL in which last year it has issued notice to the State Government on PIL seeking directions to procure the required number of body-worn cameras for the police department across the state. This is to prevent corruption among police personnel and also in the interest of safety of citizens due to Covid-19, the petition said.