THE Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea filed by a Rajya Sabha lawmaker challenging the alleged deployment of facial recognition technology and other biometric surveillance measures by Delhi Police during the recent student protest at Jantar Mantar here. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the matter be tagged with earlier petitions on the issue. Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim, said there are two issues which are a matter of concern-facial recognition of protestors done by Delhi police and data stored by private companies. “One maps your face and one is a vehicle. So spectacles are used and a vehicle is also used. And that data is all taken without permission.

 

These private entities host the data. In violation of the rules” she submitted. The bench said it would hear the petition along with other related matters. Rahim, who is member of the Rajya Sabha from Keralam for the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has approached the top court seeking a declaration that the use of indiscriminate biometric surveillance at peaceful public assemblies is unconstitutional and should be restrained until Parliament enacts a law specifically authorising and regulating such measures. The plea, filed through advocate Subhash Chandran K R, alleged that Delhi Police conducted biometric surveillance in a “complete legal vacuum”. It said neither the Delhi Police Standing Orders governing protests nor the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, authorises biometric surveillance of persons participating in civilian assemblies.