Keywords: Rajasthan HC, Right to Privacy, Phone Tapping, Telegraph Act
The Rajasthan High Court has emphasized the importance of protecting an individual’s fundamental right to privacy and has quashed three phone tapping orders passed by the State’s Home Ministry. Justice Birendra Kumar, heading the bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna, and Dipankar Datta, held that surveillance without proper procedural safeguards would constitute an infringement of the right to privacy, as enshrined in Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.[1]
The case, Shashikant Joshi v. State of Rajasthan[2], centered around the interception of mobile phones of individuals accused in a bribery case. The State authorities justified the phone tapping under the Indian Telegraph Act, claiming that the petitioner, Shashikant Joshi, was involved in bribing a public servant. Subsequently, an FIR was registered under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
However, the petitioner challenged the interception orders, asserting that his right to privacy was violated by the State’s surveillance of his mobile phone. The Court found that the orders failed to provide adequate reasons justifying the interception, as required by Section 5(2) of the Telegraph Act. As a result, the bench declared the orders as arbitrary and in violation of the constitutional right to privacy.
The Court’s judgment cited the landmark cases of PUCL and Justice KS Puttaswamy vs Union of India, which underscored the importance of adhering to procedural safeguards to protect privacy rights. It emphasized that flouting these safeguards could lead to contempt and arbitrariness, endangering citizens’ fundamental rights.
As a consequence of the ruling, the Rajasthan High Court directed the authorities to destroy all intercepted messages and recordings from the petitioner’s phone. Moreover, the Court specified that the intercepted messages should not be considered as evidence in the ongoing criminal proceedings against the petitioner.
Written by- Ananya Upadhye, College name – ILS Law College, Pune, Semester- 6th an intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] https://www.barandbench.com/news/arbitrary-phone-tapping-orders-violate-fundamental-right-to-privacy-rajasthan-high-court-quashes-orders-passed-by-state
[2] Shashikant Joshi v State of Rajasthan
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