HYDERABAD: The Union government has submitted to the Telangana High Court that it is clueless about the alleged phone tapping of several political leaders and others, including judges of the High Court, when the BRS was in power. It informed the court that the state government has neither sought its instructions nor permission as regards the issue.
The Union home ministry also submitted that the secretary to the state government, who is in charge of the state home department is the competent authority empowered to issue an order for interception of any subscriber registered in their state and it does not require any approval from the Centre for lawful interception.
It also mentioned that the intercepted records have to be destroyed by the relevant competent authority and the authorised security and law enforcement agencies every six months, as per the provisions provided under Sub-rule 419A (18) of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, unless they are, or are likely to be required subsequently for functional purposes.
Under-secretary of the union home ministry Nutan Kumari filed a counter before the High Court in the suo-motu writ petition taken up by the court based on a news article published in Deccan Chronicle “HC judge’s mobile tapped: Ex- ASP’.
Complying with the court’s directions, the ministry submitted a detailed counter. In the counter it also submitted that service providers are also held accountable for the actions of their employees under the Indian Telegraph Act. In cases of established violations related to unauthorized interception, such as breach of secrecy or confidentiality, the service providers may face penalties, including suspension, or revocation of their licenses, as outlined in Sections 20, 20-A, 23, and 24 of the Indian Telegraph Act.
The counter affidavit also referenced the Telecommunication Act, 2023, which addresses lawful interception under Section 20(2) (a). However, the rules under this section are still in the drafting stage. Until these rules are finalised, the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, continue to be applicable, as per Section 61 of the Telecommunication Act, 2023, which came into effect on June 21, 2024.
The affidavit also mentioned that under Section 42(2) of the Telecommunication Act, 2023, any unauthorised access or interception of a telecommunication network or data could result in severe penalties, including imprisonment for up to three years, fines up to Rs 2 crore or both.
By submitting all the contentions, the under-secretary left it to the court to issue appropriate directions in the alleged phone-tapping issue.
