SC notice on plea seeking guidelines on search, seizure of digital devices

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Centre on the petition filed by a group of journalists seeking guidelines on the search and seizure of digital devices.

The Court also tagged the petition with other similar matters. The direction was passed by a bench of justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the Foundation for Media Professionals through Advocate Rahul Narayan.

In the petition, the journalist association has raised the issues like today, digital devices, especially personal devices such as mobile phones and laptops, contain more sensitive personal data about individuals than any physical space, such as a house or a vault, and can be found with a person almost at all times, and are effectively an extension of the self.

“Even if it is assumed that the existing legal provisions across general and special laws are applicable in the context of the digital realm-going beyond mere production / seizure of devices but to the production and search of their contents, it is submitted that existing legal provisions, either under the Criminal Procedure Code 1973 or under various special laws, are insufficiently tailored to ensure that law enforcement agencies exercise powers in a manner consistent with the fundamental right to privacy,” the plea said.

The petitioner said that state agencies seek to justify these practices by invoking their powers to compel the production of items, or conduct search and seizure operations during inquiries or investigations and submitted that these practices are contrary to the fundamental right to privacy inherent in Article 21 of the Constitution and other constitutional provisions.

The petitioner has urged the top court to declare that the contents of an arrested/accused person’s digital device and password/passcode/biometric ID thereof are protected by the guarantee against compelled self-incrimination as under Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India.