Facial recognition software use is being taken to a new level by Indian Police departments, with them using it in different ways to monitor peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Departments like the Delhi Police and the Hyderabad Police are stopping to take photos and videos of protesters, and the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police are even using drones.

The police do not have any authority to mass surveil general public, especially with no law on surveillance as ordered by the Supreme Court in the Right to Privacy judgment, Puttuswamy Vs Union of India (2017). In fact, the right to privacy and right to peaceful assembly are both fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution.