Video Surveillance Of Village Lake Excessively Intrusive: Madras High Court Declines Installation Of CCTV To Prevent Illegal Fishing

The Madras High Court recently refused to permit the installation of CCTV cameras near a village lake to prevent activities like illegal fishing, earth mining, etc near it. Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy noted that the village lake was a traditional resource used by the villagers, who used it for multiple purposes like bathing, swimming, and leisure activities. The court added that these were semi-private spaces of the villagers, and CCTV surveillance in such places would be an excessive intrusion. The court also said that the state should not indulge in such intrusion without a strong justification. “The lakes and water bodies are traditional resources of the entire village, used for multiple purposes, including bathing, swimming, and leisure activities(without any gender difference). The homes of the people are small, and the lakes or lake bunds traditionally also serve as semi private spaces. People breathe easy in their privacy in these areas and move around freely. Therefore, CCTV surveillance in a sparsely populated rural setting would not be proportionate and is excessively intrusive in the context of a village lake. Even the state should not indulge in the same unless there is a strong justification,” the court said. The court was hearing a petition filed by Azhagappan, President of Ayacut Association who was interested in protecting the village tank and had a share in the fishing rights. The association argued that people were indulging in illegal fishing, earth mining and other illegal activities in the tanks. Thus, to protect the tank, the association had sought to install CCTV cameras. The petitioner submitted that though there was no provision enabling the installation of CCTV cameras, the association was requesting to install CCTV cameras at their own expense for surveillance of the area. The State authorities, on the other hand, submitted that the subject tank was under the control of the Water Resource Department and the petitioner association did not have any right or control in the water body. The authorities also informed that the waterbody was being used by villagers for multiple purpose, including bathing by women. Thus, the authorities submitted that surveillance was neither appropriate nor necessary. The court noted that CCTV in open areas to deter crime or to ensure safety could be considered as justifiable intrusion into one's right to privacy, subject to the proportionality standard laid down by the Supreme Court in the KS Puttaswamy judgment. The court held that if the association believed that any unauthorised activity was taking place in the tank, it would be open for them to lodge a complaint with the jurisdictional police and the same would be investigated in the manner known to law. Thus, while the court observed that the prayer for CCTV surveillance could not be permitted, it gave liberty to the association to lodge specific complaint regarding unauthorised fishing, illegal removal of earth, soil, or any other damage to the water body. Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. B. Vinoth Kumar Counsel for Respondent: Mr. P. Thambidurai Government Advocate, Mr. K. Gnanasekaran Government Advocate (Crl. Side) Case Title: R Azhagappan v The District Collector and Others Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 221 Case No: W.P(MD)No.9457 of 2026Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

Video Surveillance Of Village Lake Excessively Intrusive: Madras High Court Declines Installation Of CCTV To Prevent Illegal Fishing

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Video Surveillance Of Village Lake Excessively Intrusive: Madras High Court Declines Installation Of CCTV To Prevent Illegal Fishing

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