The Union government told the Supreme Court on Thursday (September 3, 2026) that it has begun implementing a ₹24,000-crore umbrella scheme to modernise of police forces over the next five years.
Mr. Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, assisting the court as amicus curiae, urged the Bench to ensure continuity of funding under the existing Assistance to States and Union Territories for Modernisation of Police (ASUMP) scheme until the new scheme is implemented. The Union Home Ministry currently provides funds to States and Union Territories under the scheme for installing CCTV infrastructure in police stations. Mr. Nariman (now retired), in Paramvir Singh Saini vs Baljit Singh , had directed the installation of CCTV cameras and recording equipment in police stations as a safeguard against custodial torture.
The submission was made in a suo motu proceeding initiated in 2025 after the court took note of a media report highlighting non-functional CCTV cameras at police stations in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The court had subsequently sought compliance reports from the Centre, States, and Union Territories while reviewing the implementation of its 2021 judgment in Paramvir Singh Saini vs Baljit Singh case, which mandated the installation of CCTV cameras at key locations within police stations, including entry and exit points, lockups, corridors, reception areas, and the rooms of inspectors and sub-inspectors. Thakare informed the court that the Ministry had extended the ASUMP scheme until September 30, 2026, and that States and Union Territories had been asked to promptly submit proposals to avail themselves of funds during the extended period. In 2020, a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Rohinton F.
Additional Solicitor General Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare, appearing for the Centre, told a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that the ‘Police Modernisation Mission’ would strengthen the internal security capabilities of State police forces and Central Armed Police Forces through greater use of technology. Thakare told the Bench that the proposed scheme was awaiting financial approvals and that its specific components could not be disclosed at this stage. He, however, said that adequate funds would be provided to install CCTV cameras in police stations across the States.
The court had extended the requirement to the offices of Central investigative agencies, including the National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Department of Revenue Intelligence, and Serious Fraud Investigation Office, as well as any other agency with the power to interrogate and arrest individuals.
