CIC pulls up MHA over electronic surveillance
NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission has pulled up the ministry of home affairs, stating that it earlier failed to bring out the fact that any statistical information regarding electronic surveillance was not maintained by the ministry and had been destroyed, as it sought an affidavit from it within four weeks.
The order came in response to an appeal filed by digital rights advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF).
The order comes after the Commission’s second hearing of the case, in which the ministry earlier denied to share data for reasons of “national security”. The ministry later said the data was deleted every six months in keeping with the law but added that it was stored only in specific instances.
“It is deemed appropriate that the Respondent-PIO, Deputy Secretary, CIS Division, MHA shall submit an affidavit on a non-judicial stamp paper affirming that the MHA does not maintain any statistical information/data, related to lawful interception & monitoring and that the desired information is not available as on date and hence the same cannot be provided to the Appellant,” chief information commissioner YK Sinha said in his order dated January 28.
“The Commission also admonishes the PIO for failing earlier in bringing out the fact that the information sought by the Appellant is not available on record as it had already been destroyed as per extant laws,” it said.The IFF had sought combined data for 2016, 2017 and 2018. HT reached out to MHA but did not receive a response.
IFF trustee Apar Gupta said in a tweet: “MHA continues [to] claim that it does not and will not prepare or provide statistical data on surveillance in India. CIC has directed it to provide this statement on affidavit. Further, has also admonished it for raising this in the second round of litigation”.
The IFF has filed several RTIs seeking statistical data regarding e-surveillance orders issued under Section 69 of the IT Act from the MHA on 28 December, 2018. The section empowers the government to “to issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource” in the interest of sovereignty, integrity, defence, security and preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence.
The MHA in January 2019 denied the information for reasons of “national security claiming exemptions under the RTI Act”.
IFF consequently appealed the decision with the CIC, which held that the information cannot be denied for national security. The appeal was finally heard in May 2021.
The IFF contended that similar information had been provided in the past referring to a copy of the Ministry of Home Affair’s RTI response dated 25.05.2011 to Paras Nath Singh’s RTI dated 24.02.2011, a copy of the Ministry of Home Affair’s RTI response dated 12.05.2014 to SFLC’s RTI application dated 19.03.2014 and a copy of Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad’s reply to Unstarred Question No. 1443.