Public Safety Acts That Require CCTV in Establishments: Does Your Factory Fall Under One? (India, 2026)
As of 15 Oct 2026, we found six Indian states with a Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Assam and Bihar. All six require 30 days of stored CCTV footage, and five name "industrial establishments". Only Assam's Act covers every factory automatically: statewide, any establishment with five or more people.
Last checked: 15 Oct 2026
By the Mama Editorial Team. Whether CCTV is mandatory at all: Is CCTV mandatory in Indian factories?. Permissions: Do you need permission to install CCTV?. This page covers state public-safety laws.
Verified against
- Andhra Pradesh Act No. 6 of 2013, AP Gazette Part IV-B Extraordinary No. 6, 6 July 2013. The same file includes the AP Rules, 2014 (G.O.Ms.No. 40, Home (Legal.II), 18 Feb 2014), in a PRS-hosted gazette scan.
- Telangana Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act, 2013, the adapted text. We read it on the LawGist bare-act mirror because India Code returned 403.
- Karnataka Act No. 44 of 2017 (Karnataka Gazette Extraordinary, 7 Dec 2017). We read the text on CaseMine because the India Code PDF returned 403. We also read the Karnataka Rules, 2018 (No. HD 426 SST 2017, 28 Jun 2018), a notification copy hosted by an industries association.
- Gujarat Act No. 6 of 2022, Gujarat Government Gazette Extraordinary, 7 Apr 2022.
- Assam Act No. XXXI of 2023, Assam Gazette Extraordinary No. 288, 30 Jun 2023, together with the amendment Bill's comparative statement and the Assam Gazette No. 516, 16 Nov 2023, which publishes Amendment Act LII of 2023.
- Bihar Act 11 of 2024, Bihar Gazette Extraordinary, 14 Mar 2024.
- The PRS state Acts database, searched for "public safety". Checked 15 Oct 2026.
The six Acts side by side
| State and Act | Who is covered (verbatim test) | Where it applies | CCTV duty | Storage (days) | Returns to police | Default fees (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh, Act 6 of 2013 | "likelihood of public gathering of 100 people or more at a time", incl. "industrial establishments" (s.2(a)) | Named municipal corporations (the 2013 text lists GHMC, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam) plus notified areas (s.1(2)) | Entry/exit points and parking (s.2(g)) | 30 (s.3(2)) | Every 6 months (s.4(1)) | 5,000 for month 1, 10,000 for month 2, then temporary sealing (s.6) |
| Telangana, Act 6 of 2013 (adapted) | Same wording, 100 people at a time (s.2(a)) | Corporations named in s.1(2), plus notified areas | Same | 30 | Every 6 months | 5,000 / 10,000, then sealing |
| Karnataka, Act 44 of 2017 | "hundred people or more at a time or Five Hundred per day" (s.2(a)) | BBMP and other city corporations, plus notified areas (s.1(2)) | Entry/exit, "common public places" and parking (s.2(g)) | 30 "or as notified" (s.3(2)) | Every 3 months; fines of 2,000 then 4,000 for a missed return (s.4(1)) | 5,000 / 10,000, then sealing and licence cancellation (s.6) |
| Gujarat, Act 6 of 2022 | Footfall or gathering number "as the Government may by notification declare" (s.3(1)); no list of establishment types | Notified areas only (s.1(2)) | Entry/exit and parking (s.2(e)) | 30 (s.3(2)) | None in the Act | 10,000 for month 1, then 25,000 a month (s.5(2)) |
| Assam, Act XXXI of 2023 | "industrial establishments… any place of business or office employing 5 (five) or more persons" (s.2(a)) | "the whole of the state of Assam", in force "at once" (s.1) | "all entry and exit points, common areas and all corners", plus parking (s.2(i)) | 30 (s.3(2)) | Every 6 months, online (s.4(1)) | 5,000 / 10,000, then sealing (s.6) |
| Bihar, Act 11 of 2024 | Footfall or gathering number set by notification; list includes "industrial establishments" (ss.2(a), 3(1)) | Notified areas only (s.1(2)) | Entry/exit and parking, plus cameras "facing the road adjoining the establishment" (s.2(f)) | 30 "or for a period as prescribed" (s.3(2)) | None in the Act | 10,000, then 25,000 a month (s.5(2)) |
Every Act requires footage to be handed to the police or a notified authority "as and when required".
The PRS state Acts database, searched for "public safety" on 15 Oct 2026, lists no Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act for any other state. Madhya Pradesh announced a similar law in 2022; we found no enacted text (checked 15 Oct 2026). The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, in the same results, is a preventive-detention law unrelated to CCTV.
Does my factory fall under it?
Step 1: are you in Assam? If you are, the answer is almost certainly yes. Section 3(1) covers any "establishment with minimum five number of people", and the Act took effect statewide on publication. Plants already running had one year to comply, or until their next licence renewal if that came sooner (s.4(2)). That year has passed.
Step 2: are you inside a covered city or a notified area? The AP, Telangana and Karnataka Acts cover municipal corporation areas by name. A plant on a rural industrial estate outside those limits is covered only if the state has notified that area. The Gujarat and Bihar Acts apply only to notified areas.
Step 3: has the committee identified your plant? In AP, a Supervisory Committee drawn from the municipality, the revenue department and the police identifies establishments. It looks at "a gathering of more than 100 people at any point of time, the threat perception… [and] total number of people visiting" (AP Rules r.2(1)(e), Explanation (i)). Karnataka Rules r.9(1) use the same model, and so do the Public Safety Committees in Gujarat (s.4(3)) and Bihar (s.4(3)).
Step 4: the workforce question. The duty in AP, Telangana and Karnataka exists "to ensure safety and security of the public visiting their establishment" (s.3(1)). None of these Acts says whether a 300-worker shift is a "public gathering", but factories are clearly in scope. The AP and Karnataka Rules list a Factories Act licence as a "Licence", and they require the licensing authority to make the safety measures binding when it issues or renews a licence (AP r.11; Karnataka r.10).
Practical test: if the police or your licence renewal asks for the public-safety return, you are in.
Where states differ
- Inspections. AP, Telangana and Karnataka police can enter "without prior notice" (s.5). Gujarat and Bihar require "notice of at least two days" (s.5(1)). Assam requires "prior notice" (s.5).
- Time to comply after a notice. AP, Telangana and Karnataka allow 15 days (s.6(1)). Assam Amendment Act LII of 2023 (s.2) replaced Assam's 15 days with "twenty one days". Gujarat and Bihar allow one month after the committee's written instructions (s.5(1)).
- Appeals. Karnataka appeals go to the DCP or SP within 30 days (s.7). Assam appeals go to the DCP or Additional SP within 30 days (s.7(1), as amended). Gujarat and Bihar appeals go to the District Magistrate (s.6). The AP and Telangana Acts contain no appeal section.
- Camera spec. Of the rules we read, the AP and Karnataka Rules set one: Full HD 1920×1080, 0.01 lux, 3.6 mm lens, ONVIF "or equivalent" with H.264, and a 30-day NVR (AP r.5(ii); Karnataka r.4(ii)). Both also require cameras to run "24 x 7 even when the establishment is closed" and to cover approaches "up to a distance of 50 yards".
What breaks in a factory
- Storage that is shorter than the law. A DVR that overwrites itself on day 12 fails a 30-day duty. Size the disks at the bitrate you actually record, not at the brochure figure.
- Cameras that face inward only. These Acts are about gates, parking and approaches. Shop-floor cameras do not satisfy them.
- No named person. AP r.5(iii) and Karnataka r.4(iii) require a trained operator, either an employee or an outsourced person.
- Data duties. Footage of workers is personal data. Use a worker CCTV notice, and see how long to keep footage.
What to ask, and whom
Ask the jurisdictional police station whether your plant appears in the register of identified establishments (AP Rules r.7(i); Karnataka Rules r.6(1)). Ask your installer for a 30-day storage calculation and the BIS registration of each camera model; the Certified CCTV Finder helps with the second.
Mama reads a factory's existing cameras over RTSP/ONVIF and sends the owner a morning report on where machine hours were lost. It counts machine idle time, not people. More at askthemama.com. Leave an email or phone in the form below.
FAQ
Is CCTV mandatory for factories in Assam? Yes, under the Assam Act. It covers industrial establishments and any business "employing 5 (five) or more persons" across the whole state (Act XXXI of 2023, ss.1–3). Cameras must cover entry and exit points, common areas and parking, with 30 days of storage.
Do the Karnataka public safety rules apply to factories? They can. The Act covers places with 100 people at a time or 500 a day, and it names industrial establishments (s.2(a)). Coverage is limited to city corporations and notified areas, and an establishment is in once the Supervisory Committee identifies it (Rules r.9(1)).
What is the penalty for not installing CCTV under the Public Safety Act? In AP, Telangana, Karnataka and Assam, the compounding fee is ₹5,000 for the first month and ₹10,000 for the second, followed by temporary sealing. In Gujarat and Bihar, the penalty is ₹10,000 for the first month and ₹25,000 for each month after.
This page explains primary legal texts and is not legal advice. Coverage depends on area notifications and committee identification. Confirm your position with the jurisdictional police and a qualified advisor.