Now Reading: India Uses Facial Recognition Without a Dedicated Law
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India Uses Facial Recognition Without a Dedicated Law
Facial recognition systems are being used in Indian public spaces despite the absence of a comprehensive law governing them, Bar and Bench reports. Systems scan faces at Howrah station, the Ram Mandir…
The Story in Brief
Facial recognition systems are being used in Indian public spaces despite the absence of a comprehensive law governing them, Bar and Bench reports. Systems scan faces at Howrah station, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and across Ahmedabad’s safe-city network, often without informing people or seeking consent. The technology reportedly comes from Spanish firm Herta Security and operates on several thousand cameras nationwide.
The Supreme Court’s 2017 privacy ruling in Justice KS Puttaswamy v. Union of India requires state action affecting privacy to have a legal basis, a legitimate aim, proportionality and safeguards against misuse. Bar and Bench argues that police manuals, executive orders and court directions meant for tracing missing children do not meet that test. The EU has sharply restricted real-time biometric identification in public spaces.
The Indian Opinion
Claims that facial recognition is simply smart policing ignore its effect on privacy, protest and journalism. But blanket claims that every camera immediately creates unlawful surveillance also need evidence about each system’s purpose, retention rules and access controls. The central gap is clear: India has no dedicated parliamentary framework for live public biometric identification. Parliament should settle the issue, with judicial approval and audit requirements where use is allowed. Will any proposed law publish the watchlists, error rates and deletion timelines?
Source: barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
