India Supreme Court Examines Delhi Police Biometric Surveillance

The Supreme Court of India agreed on August 13, 2026, to examine the legality of facial recognition technology and biometric surveillance used by the Delhi Police against protesters at Jantar Mantar. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notices to the Government of India and the Delhi Police commissioner, tagging the case with other petitions regarding the July 20 Sansad Chalo protest.

The proceedings follow a public interest litigation filed by CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim. The petition alleges that police conducted mass surveillance of students, journalists, and citizens without legal authorization, violating the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and the constitutional right to privacy. The surveillance reportedly involved drones, CCTV, AjnaLens smart glasses, and Ikshana surveillance vehicles, with biometric data stored by private vendors Aditya Infotech Ltd and Dimension NXG Pvt Ltd.

The legal challenge stems from youth protests organized by the Cockroach Janata Party regarding NEET-UG exam paper leaks and the mismanagement of competitive examinations, which led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Tensions escalated on July 20 after police forcibly removed activist Sonam Wangchuk from a hunger strike, triggering a crackdown on demonstrators marching toward Parliament. Rahim seeks a declaration that the surveillance is unconstitutional, the deletion of collected data from national databases, and a restraint on the technology's use until Parliament enacts specific authorizing legislation.