VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed the State government to expedite the installation of CCTV cameras in courts across the State, observing that providing infrastructure to the judiciary was the government’s responsibility, irrespective of budgetary constraints.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Challa Gunaranjan said seven years had passed since the Supreme Court issued directions for installing CCTV cameras in courts, and continued non-compliance could amount to contempt of court.
The Bench cautioned the government against forcing the court to issue stringent orders and directed it to complete the installation process at the earliest.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Thandava Yogesh, alleging that the government had failed to implement the Supreme Court’s directions despite repeated reminders. During the hearing, counsel representing the High Court submitted that the State government had issued a Government Order on January 12 this year for releasing funds required for installing CCTV cameras.
However, with the financial year having ended, another Government Order was required to release the funds, and the file was pending with the finance department. The government’s special counsel also informed the court that the file relating to the allocation of funds for the project was pending. Taking serious note of the delay, the Bench said the government could not avoid its responsibility to provide essential infrastructure to courts on the grounds of budgetary allocations or procedural delays.