AI surveillance at India protest faces court challenge

NEW DELHI: A legal challenge in India is set to test the government’s use of AI-backed surveillance after police monitored a major student protest over exam paper leaks with a camera-equipped mobile unit.

Student activist Aishe Ghosh has moved the Delhi High Court, seeking a declaration that mass surveillance of protesters is unconstitutional. She has also asked the court to order the destruction of personal data gathered during the demonstration and to require guidelines governing the use of surveillance technology.

The dispute flared during last week’s youth protests, described as the largest in decades, when demonstrators shared images on social media of a mobile police surveillance van. The vehicle was fitted with cameras mounted on a telescopic mast, giving what activists described as a 360-degree view of the gathering.

The court action is continuing even though the agitation has ended. The protests subsided after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, a rare setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who later announced a panel to revamp an exam system long criticised as vulnerable to cheating.

Debate over legal powers

Activists say police use of facial recognition and surveillance at the main protest site in New Delhi violated the law, and argue that India lacks legislation regulating how such technology can be deployed by law enforcement.

Modi’s government has defended the checks as lawful and necessary in the public interest to maintain order. The administration has repeatedly faced accusations from opposition parties and digital rights advocates that it has broadened surveillance powers and kept a tight grip on digital communications, charges it denies while saying its actions are driven by public interest.