Why is opposition crying foul over snooping row| NDA govt

Ten central agencies have been authorised by the NDA government to intercept, monitor and decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource under Information Technology Act.

The 10 agencies

Central Bureau of Investigation, IB and National Investigation Agency, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Cabinet Secretariat (RAW), Directorate of Signal Intelligence (For Jammu & Kashmir, NorthEast areas only), and Delhi Police Commissioner.

As a controversy erupted, the Home Ministry issued a statement justifying the meet. The Centre said the rules for intercepting and monitoring computer data were framed in 2009 when the Congress-led UPA was in power and its new order only notied the designated authority which can carry out such action. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Friday said there is 'no general snooping order' and that the Home Ministry's decision is in the interest of national security.

Section 69 of the IT Act

Noting that the power to intercept in the interest of national security and public order already exists in law, Jaitley said it is only an order as to who are the authorised agencies and it is only in cases mentioned in Section 69 of the IT Act.

The Information Technology Act, he said, has been in existence for almost two decades. Section 69 of the IT Act authorises a central or a state government in the interest of sovereignty, integrity and defence of India, security of state to direct a notified agency to intercept or monitor or decrypt an information stored in a computer resource.

"This provision is similar to the power contained in the Telegraph Act in relation to telephones. The UPA government had laid down a detailed procedure for this in the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009," he said.

Rule 4 authorises the competent authority to name the agencies which can undertake this exercise, the minister said, adding that there are safeguards, as prescribed by the Supreme Court, which are included in the rules.

“These rules have been framed in 2009 by the UPA government. The rules required authorised agencies to be notified,” he said.

Recent controversies

The NDA government in August told the Supreme Court that it has decided to withdraw the controversial plan to create a Social Media Communication Hub, criticised by many as an attempt to create a surveillance state. The proposal to create social media hub was challenged by TMC legislator Mahua Moitra, who alleged that monitoring of social media activities was akin to personal surveillance of citizens by the state.

The Supreme Court had in November expressed deep anguish over the purported leak of CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma's response to the CVC's findings against him.

Legal experts take

A nine-member bench of the Supreme Court had ruled in 2017 that the privacy was a fundamental right of the citizens. The verdict on the Aadhaar case has set limits on the governments in garnering personal information. The latest order is also contrary to the provisions of the IT Act, 2000, legal experts claimed.

Opposition cries foul

The opposition parties led by the Congress slammed the order as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an assault on fundamental rights and an attempt by the BJP government to convert India into a 'surveillance state' by resorting to 'snooping', inviting a sharp response from the ruling party. Chidambaram criticised the government's move to authorise 10 Central agencies to intercept 'any information' on 'any computer' and said an 'Orwellian state is round the corner.'