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Showing contexts for: phone interception in Amar Singh vs Union Of India & Ors on 11 May, 2011Matching Fragments
GANGULY, J.
1. In this writ petition, filed under Article 32, the petitioner is seeking to protect his fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner's case is that on the basis of his information from various sources, he had learnt that the Government of India and the Government of National Capital Region of Delhi, being pressurised by the respondent No.7, had been intercepting the petitioner's conversation on phone, monitoring them and recording them. The petitioner had been availing of the telephone services of M/s Reliance Infocom Ltd., impleaded herein as respondent no.8. He further referred to similar cases of interception of phone conversations of other people, including some of the country's leading political figures, who were using services provided by M/s Reliance Infocom Ltd. and other service providers. Such interception of conversation, according to the petitioner, amounts to intrusion on the privacy of the affected people, and is motivated by political ill will and has been directed only towards those who are not aligned with the political party in power at the Centre. He submitted that this infringement of his fundamental rights was symptomatic of the erosion of the democratic values in the country. He prayed that the Court may declare the orders for interception unconstitutional and therefore void, and initiate a judicial inquiry into the issuance and execution of these orders, and prayed that damages be awarded to him. It was further prayed that all the telecom service providers including M/s. Reliance Infocom, along with all the others who had been impleaded, be directed to disclose all the relevant details with respect to the directions of interception issued to them by the authorities, and this Court may lay down guidelines on interception of phone conversations in addition to the ones laid down by this Court in its judgment in People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) v. Union of India and Another (1997) 1 SCC 301.
5. In this matter pursuant to the direction of this Court, a detailed affidavit has been filed by one R. Chopra, Joint Secretary (Home Department) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, in which it has been clearly stated that the Principal Secretary (Home) in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, is authorised by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to exercise powers to order interception of phone conversation for a period specified in such orders in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (the said Act). From the order of authorisation dated 10th December, 1997, it appears that the same was issued pursuant to the judgment of this Court dated 18th December, 1996 in People's Union for Civil Liberties (supra) and also Section 5 (2) read with the Government of India, States Ministry Notification No. 104-J, dated 24th October, 1950.
6. In the said affidavit it has been clearly stated by the deponent that no request for interception is examined by the Home Department unless it is accompanied by a confirmation that the same has the prior approval of the Commissioner of Police, Delhi. It was clarified that no Joint Commissioner of Police or police officer of any other rank can directly request for an interception, without first obtaining a prior approval of the Commissioner of Police. It was also clarified that no phone interception order is suo motu issued by the Principal Secretary (Home) without a request from the Government agency.
23. In laying down the aforesaid principles, this Court in Smt. Savitramma (supra) relied on a full Bench judgment in Purushottam Jog Naik (supra).
24. In the instant case, the petitioner invoked the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 32, without filing a proper affidavit as required in terms of Order XIX Rule 3 of the Code.
Apart from the fact that the petitioner invoked Article 32, the nature of the challenge in his petition is very serious in the sense that he is alleging an attempt by the government of intercepting his phone and he is further alleging that in making this attempt the government is acting on extraneous considerations, and is virtually acting in furtherance of the design of the ruling party. It is, therefore, imperative that before making such an allegation the petitioner should be careful, circumspect and file a proper affidavit in support of his averment in the petition.