Delhi Police Use AI Facial Recognition on Student Protesters

The Delhi Police deployed AI-powered facial recognition technology and biometric surveillance to monitor mass student protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Law enforcement utilized Ikshana mobile surveillance vans with 360-degree cameras and allegedly used Meta smart glasses to identify individuals by comparing live feeds against a criminal database.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and government officials defended the measures as routine law-and-order actions intended to identify anti-social elements. Health Minister J. P. Nadda also characterized police actions against activist Aishe Ghosh as a routine law-and-order action.

Digital rights advocates and political organizers have challenged the legality of the operation. The Cockroach Janta Party argued that mass-scanning citizens exercising their legal right to protest is unconstitutional, while the Internet Freedom Foundation warned that such technology manufactures suspects when applied to crowds. In response, Aishe Ghosh petitioned the Delhi High Court to declare the surveillance unconstitutional and demanded the destruction of collected personal data. The controversy has further escalated with a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court.