Delhi Police has told the Supreme Court that its facial-recognition system identified 2,873 people during the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar.
The disclosure has emerged as the Supreme Court examines a series of petitions linked to the protest, including allegations of excessive police action and the use of facial recognition and other surveillance technology.
But the number needs some context.
Delhi Police says the people identified were matched with existing police records. The figure does not mean that 2,873 people were found to have committed offences during the protest.
So, how did the police arrive at the number?
What did Delhi Police tell the Supreme Court?
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, Delhi Police denied allegations that facial recognition was being used to indiscriminately monitor everyone at the protest.
The police said the system was used to identify people whose faces were already linked to records in police databases.
According to the affidavit, 2,873 people were identified through matches with existing records.
Of these:
2,402 were identified through the Crime Kundli database
471 were identified through dossier records
92 were said to have involvement in more than 10 cases
47 were classified as history-sheeters by police
The police said the records included previous cases involving serious offences, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, rape, offences under the POCSO Act, crimes against women, kidnapping and violations under laws including the Arms Act and NDPS Act.
Were all 2,873 people accused of crimes at the protest?
No. That is not what the figure establishes. The 2,873 figure refers to people whose faces were matched against records already available with the police.
It does not establish that every person identified committed an offence at Jantar Mantar.
It also does not mean that every person in the figure has been convicted of a crime.
That distinction is particularly important because Delhi Police's affidavit describes the facial-recognition system as an identification tool, rather than evidence by itself that a person committed an offence during the protest.
What happens after a facial-recognition match?
Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that a facial-recognition match was only the first step.
The police said officers would carry out field verification to establish whether the person identified by the system was actually present at the protest.
According to the affidavit, action would be taken only after that verification.
The police also said that its facial-recognition system did not automatically create or maintain profiles of every person at the protest. It rejected the allegation that it was carrying out indiscriminate surveillance of peaceful protesters.
Why is facial recognition being questioned?
The use of facial recognition at protest sites is now before the Supreme Court as a separate legal issue.
On 13 August, the court agreed to hear a petition filed by Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim challenging the use of facial-recognition technology and related biometric-surveillance measures by police at protest sites.
The petition was tagged with the other cases concerning the CJP protests.
The petition raises questions about privacy, surveillance and the legal basis for collecting and processing biometric information at a public demonstration. It also questions the use of private technology providers and the handling and retention of such data.
Importantly, the Supreme Court has not ruled that Delhi Police's use of facial recognition in this case was illegal. The challenge is still before the court.
What is the CJP protest case about?
The facial-recognition controversy is part of a much larger legal dispute over what happened during the protest at Jantar Mantar.
Petitions before the Supreme Court have raised allegations of excessive force by the Delhi Police.
The police have denied those allegations and defended their handling of the protest, saying officers exercised restraint and used only the force they considered necessary.
On 18 August, the Supreme Court said it would constitute a high-powered committee to examine allegations of police excesses during the protests.
The committee and the facial-recognition case deal with different questions, but both are now part of the court's scrutiny of the events at Jantar Mantar.
What does the 2,873 figure actually tell us?
For now, it tells us what Delhi Police says its facial-recognition system identified.
It tells us that those faces matched records already held in police databases.
It does not, by itself, establish how many of those people were involved in violence during the CJP protest.
Nor does it establish that the people identified were guilty of the offences listed in the police records.
The legal questions around the technology are also still open.
The Supreme Court will now have to consider the competing claims about the police's use of facial recognition, including questions around privacy, surveillance and the legal safeguards governing such technology at a protest.
For now, 2,873 is a police identification figure, not a finding of guilt against 2,873 protesters.
TL;DR | News At Glance
What happened?
Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that its facial-recognition system identified 2,873 people during the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar.
What does the number mean?
Police said the 2,873 people were matched with existing records in police databases between 20 and 26 July. The figure does not mean they were found to have committed offences during the protest.
Why is it being challenged?
The use of facial recognition and biometric surveillance at protest sites has raised questions over privacy, surveillance and the legal safeguards governing protesters’ data.
What has the Supreme Court said?
The Court is examining the issue alongside allegations of police excesses. It has not yet ruled on whether the use of facial recognition at protest sites is legally permissible.
