Delhi HC issues notice to Delhi govt. over installation of CCTVs in classrooms
Delhi HC issues notice to Delhi govt. over installation of CCTVs in classrooms
Response sought by March 30
New Delhi, Feb. 23 (Delhi Crown): The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Delhi Government, its Department of Education, the Directorate of Education and the PWD, on a petition challenging the installation of CCTVs in government-run schools’ classrooms.
The court directed the Delhi Government, its Department of Education, the Directorate of Education and the PWD to submit their responses before it by March 30.
A division bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh is hearing the plea.
The petition has been filed before the HC by the Delhi Parents Association and Government School Teachers Association, challenging the decision of the Delhi government to install CCTV cameras inside classrooms in all Government-run schools, alleging it was violative of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution.
The Delhi Government has been installing CCTV cameras inside classrooms of Government Schools, and also providing live-streaming of such video footage to third persons, including parents.
The plea stated that the impugned decisions (of the Kejriwal govt.) to install CCTV cameras inside classrooms, without obtaining specific consent from the students, their parents or the teachers, was a “gross violation’ of their Fundamental Right to Privacy, upheld by a 9-Judge Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court in K.S. Puttaswamy Vs. Union of India.
It contended that the complete absence of a data protection regime, or any regulatory framework to protect citizens’ data, the twin acts of obtaining and then storing children’s data on private computer servers is “fraught with danger’ and is thus also violative of the Fundamental Right to Privacy.
The Parents-Association has opposed the idea of cross-sharing classroom footage with other parents or unauthorized third persons. They fear that such footage may be “misused” for morphing and dissemination on social media.
The Teachers-Association is also concerned about their privacy and the preservation of their dignity as guaranteed under Article 21. It is alleged in the plea that there is violation of their fundamental right to be “treated equally with other government servants”.
