Supreme Court to hear tapping plea today
Cellular body says operators caught in states’ tussle
By : j. venkatesan
Update: 2015-07-23 02:04 GMT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a writ petition filed by the Cellular Operators Association of India on whether the operators should obey the orders of the AP government to disclose documents and electronic data relating to telephone tapping incident involving an MLA.
A bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur agreed to take up the petition on a mention from senior counsel K.K. Venugopal that the operators were caught between the conflicting orders passed by the AP and Telangana governments.
He said while the Andhra Pradesh government wanted the data regarding certain cellular phone numbers to be provided, the Telangana government had issued an order directing the operators not to part with any such information.
In its petition, the COAI warned the operators not to disclose information failing which they would face criminal prosecution under the Indian Telegraph Act, Indian Penal Code, and the Official Secrets Act.
The AP government was insisting on parting with such information and the operators are caught in a piquant situation.
It said the issue was of national importance and involved the question of protection of fundamental rights vis-a-vis the power of the government. It wanted a direction to the two governments not to implement their directions.