Point Out Law And Procedure For Monitoring, Intercepting Phones: High Court To Centre

"Time to file detailed affidavit granted to Union of India. Point out in detail the law and procedure followed by the Union of India for monitoring and interception of phones," said a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh which listed the matter for next hearing on September 30.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed the Central government to file a "detailed affidavit" on a PIL alleging "generalised surveillance" of the citizens by the authorities and sought details of procedure in relation to the monitoring and interception of phones. "Time to file detailed affidavit granted to Union of India. Point out in detail the law and procedure followed by the Union of India for monitoring and interception of phones," said a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh which listed the matter for next hearing on September 30. The bench was hearing a PIL by two societies which have claimed that citizens' right to privacy was being "endangered" by surveillance programmes like the Centralised Monitoring System (CMS), Network Traffic Analysis (NETRA) and National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). The plea by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) and Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) has contended that these surveillance systems allow central and state law enforcement agencies to intercept and monitor all telecommunications in bulk which is an infringement of the fundamental right to privacy of individuals.