Summary of the Case

The High Court of Tripura has directed the State authorities to ensure strict implementation of the Supreme Court’s CCTV guidelines in all police stations and specifically placed responsibility on the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of each police station for ensuring that CCTV systems remain functional, properly maintained and capable of recording. The directions came while disposing of W.P.(Crl.) No. 06 of 2026, Smt. Ratna Roy v. The State of Tripura & Ors., concerning allegations of assault and custodial misconduct involving the petitioner’s son at East Agartala Police Station. The judgment was delivered on 17 September 2026 by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit.

Facts of the Case

The case arose from an incident on 4 April 2026, when the petitioner’s son, Saikat Saha, was allegedly taken to East Agartala Police Station following a dispute. The petitioner alleged that he was assaulted, humiliated and subjected to torture inside the police station in the presence of police personnel.

The allegations included assault by Rabindranath Ghosh and Joy Debnath, with the petitioner further alleging that police personnel failed to prevent the incident. Since the incident allegedly occurred inside the police station, CCTV footage became crucial evidence.

On 6 May 2026, the High Court directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate, West Tripura, to take custody of the CCTV footage of the police station for the relevant period and preserve it. The Court subsequently constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations. The SIT later reported that CCTV footage showed Saikat Saha being assaulted inside the police station. The Court also recorded that departmental proceedings had been initiated against police personnel, while criminal proceedings were pursued against the persons accused of assault.

Arguments and Court’s Consideration

The proceedings highlighted the importance of CCTV footage in investigating allegations of misconduct inside police stations. The Bench noted that in the present case, the availability of CCTV footage enabled the Court and investigating authorities to examine what had occurred. The Court also took note of another matter, W.P.(Crl.) No. 10 of 2026, Smt. Lipika Lodh v. The State of Tripura & Ors., where CCTV footage was unavailable because the system had reportedly remained non-functional around the time of the alleged incident.

Court’s Judgment and Directions

Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Paramvir Singh Saini v. Baljit Singh & Ors., the High Court directed that the CCTV guidelines must be implemented “in letter and spirit” throughout Tripura.

The Court specifically directed that:

• The Officer-in-Charge of every police station shall be responsible for the working, maintenance and recording of CCTV systems.
• CCTV systems must remain functional and recordings must be properly preserved.
• In case of malfunction, the OC must immediately inform the District Level Oversight Committee (DLOC) and provide details of arrests and interrogations conducted during the period of malfunction.
• The DLOC must immediately approach the State Level Oversight Committee (SLOC) for repair or replacement of the equipment.
• The directions concerning CCTV installation, recording and preservation issued by the Supreme Court must be followed across police stations in the State.

The High Court ultimately disposed of W.P.(Crl.) No. 06 of 2026, while reiterating that functional CCTV surveillance is an important safeguard for accountability and for ensuring that incidents occurring inside police stations can be properly investigated.

Case: Smt. Ratna Roy v. The State of Tripura & Ors.
W.P.(Crl.) No. 06 of 2026
Judgment: 17 September 2026
Bench: Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao & Justice Biswajit Palit.

Download the order: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WmEJENiFfb9CxIrsYc_UrkHiKpFyPUIS/view?usp=sharing