AI Surveillance Van at India’s Biggest Youth Protest in Decades Heads to Court
Published
Key Takeaways
- Legal challenge: A student activist petitioned the Delhi High Court to declare mass surveillance of protesters unconstitutional and order the destruction of collected data.
- Surveillance system: Delhi Police deployed "Ikshana," an AI-powered surveillance van supplied by CCTV company CP Plus, at the New Delhi protest site.
- Government stance: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the checks as "absolutely necessary" and in "legitimate state interest."
Indian activists are challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over AI-powered surveillance used at the largest youth protest in decades. The controversy erupted during last week's student protest over exam paper leaks. Demonstrators posted images of a mobile police surveillance van fitted with cameras on a telescopic mast, giving officers a 360-degree view of the gathering.
The protest wound down after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned – a rare setback for Modi, who has since announced a panel to overhaul the country's cheating-prone exam system.
Exam Paper Leak Protest Sparks Surveillance Row
Student activist Aishe Ghosh has asked the Delhi High Court to declare the surveillance unconstitutional, order the destruction of all personal data collected, and establish clear guidelines governing how surveillance technology can be used going forward.
That last request matters because, right now, there's a gap to fill: India has no law specifically governing police use of facial recognition, activists say, according to Reuters. In a hearing Monday, Ghosh's side argued the mass surveillance of protesters was disproportionate and pushed for broader disclosure of the state's policies on the matter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pushed back for the government, calling privacy claims at a public gathering "ironical" and defending the checks as "absolutely necessary" and in "legitimate state interest." The court is set to hear the matter again Tuesday.
Ikshana System and Calls for Accountability
The van itself carried the Delhi Police crest alongside "Ikshana" branding – Hindi for "vision." CP Plus, the CCTV company behind it, said it supplied the hardware but that operational decisions were made by law enforcement.
"The computers here help us identify those who have a criminal history, and it highlights them," police officer Raj Kumar Dahiya told Reuters. The force warned about a fake notice purportedly issued by Delhi Police in a Sunday post on X, saying it had not unlawfully "restricted anyone's freedom through the use of facial recognition technology".
A Reuters reporter who walked past the van reportedly saw a display inside showing his own face boxed in green with a "face accuracy" score before a police officer inside quickly closed the window.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights group, has separately written to Delhi's police commissioner demanding deletion of biometric data gathered at the site.
Last month, Human Rights Watch said Bulgaria let Circles export surveillance tech to repressive regimes.
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