Phone taps not covered under RTI

4 Oct 2007, 0116 hrs IST Viju B TNN The Times of India

MUMBAI: If you suspect the government machinery is tapping your phone and you want to get information about it under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, you may be in for a disappointment.

The State Information Commission (SIC) in Maharashtra, in a landmark order, has turned down the final appeal of an applicant who felt that his two mobile phones were being tapped.

Vile Parle resident Omprakash H Yadav had, in his RTI query in April, sought information from the principal information officer of the state home department on the suspected tapping of his phones in the last three years. Yadav wanted to know whether the mobiles had been tapped and, if yes, for what reason and under which legal provisions.

While giving a detailed order on the legal provisions of phone-tapping, the SIC dismissed the appeal saying the state was empowered to do so without the consent of the individual in accordance with a Supreme Court judgment.

Earlier, responding to the query, the information officer had informed Yadav that the information could not be given to him in keeping with an exemption under Section 8(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. In May, Yadav appealed before the appellate authority contending that he was deemed a suspect as the information was not given.

Turning down the appeal, the appellate authority clarified that not disclosing the tapping of telephone numbers did not mean that the government considered the information seeker a suspect. Yadav approached the SIC for the final appeal.

The SIC, during the hearing, referred to a Supreme Court order in the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) versus Union of India case.

The apex court stated that under the Indian Telegraph Act, the central government or designated officers of the state dispensation could be authorised to intercept messages during emergency or in the interest of public safety. "But the order shall not be issued by a person less than the rank of home secretary or not below the rank of joint secretary. The order, unless renewed, shall ceased to be in effect at the end of two months and the total operation shall not exceed more than six months," the judgment had said.

"Thus, it is clear beyond doubt that telephone tapping is a secret affair carried out in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of the country. The appellate officer has rightly turned down the contention of the appellant and the appeal is dismissed," the order said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Phone_taps_not_covered_under_RTI/articleshow/2426881.cms

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