Data Protection Bill | Nation’s interest always trumps individual’s interest, says JPC chief

Dissent notes to clause 35 are misconceived and politically motivated, says BJP MP and chairperson of parliamentary panel on the Data Protection Bill P.P. Chaudhary.

On a day when the long-awaited report on the Data Protection Bill 2019 was tabled in Parliament, the Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee and BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary stresses that divulging the reasons for exemptions to government agencies would imperil the security of the state.

The primary challenge was that with the ever-changing technology, we cannot visualise what other compliance problems could crop up in the future. Our endeavour was to write a comprehensive and futuristic report. Also, it is a very technical subject. Since I took over, there were 16 meetings, that included a study tour too. The committee introduced 170 new amendments since I got the job in July this year.

The clause 35 is very clear; it exempts the government agencies from the purview of the law only for the reasons of “public order”, "sovereignty", "friendly relations with foreign states" and "security of the state". And the reasons to seek exemption have to be noted in writing. Now, some of the members wanted this record of reasons to be tabled for Parliament's approval. It simply can’t be done! By divulging the reasons would imperil the security of the state. It would have been at cross purpose of why such an exemption is being given. If there is a conflict between interest of the nation and interest of an individual, the former always takes precedence.