Phone Tapping Not Permissible for Crime Detection: Madras High Court

In a landmark decision, in a plea by the Ministry of Home Affairs to permit phone tapping to detect general crime, the Madras High Court threw out the plea. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh stressed that phone tapping amounts to a dangerous act of intrusion in privacy and should strictly operate under the Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. The justification of such measures, according to the court, may be applicable in cases of the public emergency or the public safety only. The decision makes Article 21, which places the right to privacy as a fundamental right, even stronger. Within the case was discussed the phone tap that occurred in 2011 to detain a bribery suspect who was serving in the field of government.

Context

• Madras HC passed a judgement that phone tapping is unconstitutional unless it is justified under the circumstances of public emergency or under the public safety. 

• Instead, it declined to encompass the purview of Section 5(2) of Telegraph Act to find crimes.

Key Points

Legal Framework

• Law Applicable: Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885

• Allows Phone Tapping, In the Following Conditions:

  • There is a public emergency, or

  • It is in the interest of public safety

Case Background

• The petitioner is P. Kishore of Everonn Education Ltd.

• Problem: There was a case of his phone tapping with an order of MHA, which resulted in the bribery of a tax official.

• Ruling: The tap was unconstitutional; this recording can not be presented in a court as evidence.

Important Insights of the Court

• Right to Privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21.

• The only role of the court is to review the passing of legal thresholds.

• Judiciary is denied the capability of enlarging statutory powers of the executive.

• Cited the PUCL (1996) and the K.S. Puttaswamy (2017) of the right to privacy.

Constitutional Implications

• Reiterates that there is no compromise on privacy unless there are extreme circumstances.

• Strengthens the controls of executive excess in surveillance.

• Forms judicial oversight to protect the misuse of the surveillance authority.

Conclusion

The ruling is a robust confirmation of the constitutional right to privacy, and it places clear limits on the state powers of spying. It highlights the relevance of the safeguards created by the legislation and the role of the judiciary to exercise their duty of protection of the fundamental rights not only in opposition of the state interests, such as prevention of crime.