Delhi court to test AI surveillance at India youth protest
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- Aishe Ghosh petitioned the Delhi High Court to declare mass surveillance of protesters unconstitutional, demand destruction of all personal data collected, and order guidelines on surveillance technology — pressing the case even after the protest ended.
- Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned during student protests over exam paper leaks in a rare setback for Modi, who then announced a panel to overhaul the cheating-prone exam system.
- The Delhi Police "Ikshana" surveillance van, developed with Indian CCTV company CP Plus, carried AI-powered cameras on a telescopic mast with 360-degree coverage; when a Reuters reporter walked past, his face appeared on an interior display with a "face accuracy" match before officers shut the window.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended police conduct in court, calling privacy claims at a public gathering "ironical" and the checks "absolutely necessary" and in "legitimate state interest."
- Internet Freedom Foundation wrote to Delhi's police commissioner on July 24 demanding deletion of biometric data; Delhi Police said on X it had not "restricted anyone's freedom through the use of facial recognition technology."
- Police also recorded protesters' Instagram handles, with Inspector Sunil Kumar telling Reuters the checks were to ensure no one with a criminal background entered the protest.
Why it matters: The Delhi High Court case will test whether India can deploy unregulated facial recognition at public gatherings — a technology with no governing law — and whether collected biometric data must be destroyed. Digital rights groups argue the absence of legal guardrails makes the practice inherently unconstitutional and are demanding proportional use.
