Kerala High Court Rules Out 'Privacy' Concerns Regarding AI Cameras Monitoring Traffic Violations In State

The Kerala High Court has ruled out privacy concerns raised against the State's AI-enabled 'Safe Kerala Project', which deploys automated cameras for traffic enforcement.The writ was filed by the leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and MLA Ramesh Chennithala, stating that entrusting private contractors with sensitive driving data violated citizens' fundamental right to privacy. They claimed that confidential personal data, such as driving licenses, could be misused by private partners. It was also alleged that M/s SRIT India Pvt Ltd, which emerged as the successful bidder for the Project, did not satisfy any of the minimum eligibility conditions either.Rejecting this contention, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji held that no private party has access to citizens' data. The Court noted that images of traffic violations are encrypted, transmitted only to government-controlled servers, and verified through the National Informatics Centre's application. All records remain under the exclusive control of the Motor Vehicles Department and the Central Government's NIC server, ensuring that private contractors are confined to installation and operational support.“All information is securely stored on a server located in the State control room, which is under the exclusive control of the MV Department. When a violation is detected, the camera automatically captures an image, and only the images of actual violations are transmitted to the central control room as encrypted data. These encrypted images are then sent to the IT Mission application, which is owned by the Ministry of Road Traffic and maintained by the National Informatics Centres. Designated officers in each district use this application to verify the violations. Once approved, the details of the vehicle owner are retrieved from the Vahan database, and e-challans are generated. The 6th Respondent (KELTRON) then downloads these e-challans in their respective districts and submits them to the MV Department for regulatory control. After final approval, the challans are sent to the violators via ordinary post. Since all violated images are recorded on the State Control Room's server under the MV Department and are stored on the NIC server, which is under the control of the Central Government, there is no possibility of data being transferred to private servers” the bench observed.It was submitted that SRIT was tasked with the installation of various components, including electronic modules, AIC modules, ANPR modules, vehicles for the mobile enforcement system, and CCR and DCRS systems. The Court noted that the private Respondent's work was limited to the installation and operation of the project up until its “GO LIVE” date.It thus concluded that there is no breach of data privacy as contended by the petitioners, and dismissed the PIL.The plea had also sought court-monitored probe into the Safe Kerala Project, which was refused. More about it here.Case Title: V D Satheeshan MLA & Others v State of Kerala and Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 524Case No: WP(C) 19992/ 2023Counsel for the Petitioners: George Poonthottam (Sr.), Nisha George, Arun Chandran, J Vishnu, A L Navaneeth Krishnan, Sidharth R WariyarCounsel for Respondents: Gopalakrishna Kurup (AG), N Manoj Kumar, M A Zohra, Shyam Padman(Sr.), P Binod, P Sreekumar(Sr.), Aditya Unnikrishnan, Mansoor Ali, Rajeesh V R, C M Andrews, Boby M Sekhar, Laya Mary joseph, Harish Abraham, Nichu Willington, Ashwathi Shyam, Muhammed Suhail P A, Helen P A, Stephanie Sharon, Athul Roy, P S Murali, Haritha Harinath, V Manu (Sr. GP), Saritha K S, Binisha Baby, Aravind Rajagoplan MenonClick Here To Read/ Download Judgment

Kerala High Court Rules Out 'Privacy' Concerns Regarding AI Cameras Monitoring Traffic Violations In State

Anamika MJ

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