SC seeks govt reply on PIL against ‘ snooping’ order
NOD TO MONITOR Plea terms govt notification ‘illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires to law’ THE PLEA SEEKS TO PROHIBIT THE AGENCIES FROM INITIATING
ANY CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, ENQUIRY OR INVESTIGATION AGAINST ANYBODY UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE IT ACT BASED ON THE NOTIFICATION
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a plea challenging the notification authorising 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt any computer system and sought a response within six weeks.
On December 20, the government had issued a notification empowering 10 government agencies, under the Information Technology (IT) Act, to monitor and decrypt any information stored in electronic device on grounds of internal security.
The 10 agencies notified under the new order are the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (for Income Tax Department), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, Directorate of Signal Intelligence (in service areas of Jammu and Kashmir, n North East and Assam) and Delhi Police commissioner.
The PIL challenging the government’s notification came up before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
Filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, the plea termed the notification “illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires to the law”. He also sought to prohibit the agencies from initiating any criminal proceedings, enquiry or investigation against anybody under the provisions of the IT Act based on the notification.
The petition alleged that the notification gives the state the right to access every communication, computer and mobile and “to use it to protect political interest and object of the present executive political party”.
The government’s move set off a political storm with Congress president Rahul Gandhi targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “Converting India into a police state isn’t going to solve your problems, Modi Ji. It’s only going to prove to over 1 billion Indians what an insecure dic- tator you really are.”
However, the Central government said the rules for intercepting and monitoring computer data were framed in 2009 when the Congress-led UPA was in power and its new order only notified the designated authority which can carry out such action.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had maintained during the winter session in Rajya Sabha that “authorised agencies have right under the law to intercept any attempt to subvert national security, defence, public order or integrity of India”.