Recently, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with a Calcutta High Court judgment that barred the installation of CCTV cameras in a shared residence without the consent of all occupants.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the High Court’s decision.

The case stemmed from a dispute between two brothers over surveillance cameras in the residential portion of their jointly owned building. One brother had installed five CCTV cameras citing the need to safeguard valuable property and rare antiques. The other objected, claiming it violated his privacy.

The Calcutta High Court held that such installation, done without the approval of co-occupants or co-trustees, constitutes a breach of privacy rights. Relying on the landmark Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017), the Court reaffirmed that the right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution and is rooted in personal dignity, autonomy, and liberty. It also cited the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which recognizes privacy as a core individual right.

A division bench of Justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Uday Kumar ruled:

“Installation and operation of CCTV cameras inside the residential portion of the dwelling house without the consent of the co-trustee/appellant would amount to restrictions on his right to free enjoyment of property, and violation of the appellant’s right to privacy.”

Accordingly, the High Court had directed the removal of the cameras, finding them to be an infringement on the appellant’s property rights and personal dignity.

Case Title: Indranil Mullick & Ors. vs. Shuvendra Mullick
SLP(C): 12384/2025

For Petitioners: Sr. Adv. S. Niranjan Reddy, Sriram P (AOR), Vishnu Shankar, Rahul Jojo, Siddhartha Basu, Aditya Santosh, Nalukettil Anandhu S. Nair, Maneesha Sunil
For Respondents: Sr. Adv. Rana Mukherjee (AOR), Siddharth, Prateek Goyal, Harshit Manwani