Digital surveillance in POCSO investigations: Balancing efficiency and procedural fairness–a study with special reference to shekhawati region of rajasthan

Abstract

Now a days CCTV footage, mobile location data, Call Detail Records (CDR) and internet logs are a major part of criminal investigation in India especially under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 with the use of digital surveillance tools. The paper discusses the link between these technological tools and constitutional procedural fairness in the semi-urban and rural terrain of the Shekhawati region (Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu districts) of Rajasthan.

The study, based on data from the NCRB, CAG Performance Audit reports, and landmark judicial precedents, assesses the extent to which digital evidence accelerates investigations. However, systemic challenges continue to undermine procedural fairness, including severe forensic delays, infrastructural and skill deficiencies in rural policing, the stringent certificate requirements under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (formerly Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act), and concerns about digital privacy. The paper advocates a rights-based framework, technologically upgraded, and proposes the establishment of regional forensic facilities, mandatory digital training of officers at the grid level and adherence to the proportionality standard to ensure that technology consolidates, rather than destroys, the delivery of justice.