The High Court of Karnataka on Monday 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.
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum, issued the directions while disposing of a PIL petition filed by Geeta Misra, a social activist from Bengaluru.
The Bench issued the directions after the Government stated that the process to procure 2,680 body-worn cameras is underway, and already 1,097 such cameras have been procured through tender. It was also told to the court on behalf of the Government that these cameras were supplied during last week of December 2021 and these cameras are being utilised by the police authorities after training.
The petition, filed in 2020, had complained that the Bengaluru city police had procured around 50 body-worn cameras at a cost of around ₹75 lakh for use of traffic police but those cameras were not being used by the police.
The petitioner has said that use of body-worn cameras will come handy for the police to handle troublesome people during traffic management besides helping the Police Department to monitor the conduct of traffic police and address the issue of corruption while checking motorist for traffic rule violations.
