Full Judgment Text
JUDGMENT
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 44/2024 — In Re: Right to Privacy in Digital Surveillance
A five-judge Constitution Bench was constituted to examine the constitutional validity of the Indian Telegraph Act's interception provisions in light of the right to privacy recognised in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs Union of India (2017) 10 SCC 1.
HELD:
1. The right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 and encompasses the right to be free from arbitrary electronic surveillance by the State.
2. Interception orders under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act must satisfy the three-pronged test of legality, necessity and proportionality.
3. A Judicial Oversight Committee comprising retired High Court Judges must review all interception orders within 30 days of issuance. Any order found disproportionate must be immediately revoked.
4. The affected persons must be notified within three months of the closure of surveillance, except where national security considerations certifiably warrant continued confidentiality — a determination that must itself be subject to sealed-cover judicial scrutiny.
Guidelines issued accordingly. Union of India to file compliance report within six months.
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 44/2024 — In Re: Right to Privacy in Digital Surveillance
A five-judge Constitution Bench was constituted to examine the constitutional validity of the Indian Telegraph Act's interception provisions in light of the right to privacy recognised in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs Union of India (2017) 10 SCC 1.
HELD:
1. The right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 and encompasses the right to be free from arbitrary electronic surveillance by the State.
2. Interception orders under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act must satisfy the three-pronged test of legality, necessity and proportionality.
3. A Judicial Oversight Committee comprising retired High Court Judges must review all interception orders within 30 days of issuance. Any order found disproportionate must be immediately revoked.
4. The affected persons must be notified within three months of the closure of surveillance, except where national security considerations certifiably warrant continued confidentiality — a determination that must itself be subject to sealed-cover judicial scrutiny.
Guidelines issued accordingly. Union of India to file compliance report within six months.
