Delhi Police face recognition lists people who were in jail as present at a protest
What happened
Delhi Police told the Supreme Court, in an affidavit dated 17 August 2026, that its Facial Recognition System had identified 2,873 people with criminal records at protests at Jantar Mantar between 20 and 26 July. It said 2,402 of the matches came from its biometric database, Crime Kundli, and 471 from criminal records.
The Indian Express checked 205 people on the list who were linked to serious offences. Police, jail and court records showed that at least 25 of them were in Delhi prisons at the time the system placed them at the protest.
- July 2026
- New Delhi
- Courts, tribunals and policing
- Face or voice recognitionDelhi Police’s Facial Recognition System, run from surveillance vans and matched against its biometric database, Crime Kundli, and criminal records.
- Failed or made an error
- Human or fundamental rights
- People named in a police list of 2,873 protesters said to have criminal records
- Independent reporting
- Added 01.10.2026
What followed
On 1 September 2026 the Supreme Court quashed the police cases against students over the protests, but allowed the government to proceed against the 2,873 people on the list. The police say nobody will face action on the strength of a face match alone, and that each identification will be checked in the field first.
We read the Indian Express findings as reported by MediaNama and Outlook, not in the original. Only 205 of the 2,873 names were checked, and Delhi Police has not published the system’s error rates.
Sources
- Delhi Police FRS flagged 25 jailed people at Jantar Mantar
MediaNama,
- Jantar Mantar Protest: 25 People Flagged By Facial Recognition Were In Jail, Records Show
Outlook India,
Something wrong or missing?
Records are summaries of what their sources report, and they can be out of date. If you can correct one, add to it, or you’re named in it and want to reply, write to hello@indiaaisafety.org with the record number.