The Delhi High Court has set aside an order upholding the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) direction to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to collect and furnish information under Right to Information (RTI) proceedings about the alleged tapping of a mobile user’s phone.
The bench allowed an appeal filed by TRAI against a single-judge bench order and said an act of surveillance is carried out under the government’s directions and in the interest of the country’s sovereignty and integrity, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offence, and is exempted under the RTI Act.
The court noted that phone tapping does not fall under the affairs of telecom service providers and the information sought also does not relate to the functions of the TRAI under the law.
It further noted that information under the RTI Act includes any information relating to any private body, which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force.
Furthermore, the single-judge order noted that TRAI does have the obligation to get the information from the private body and furnish it to the subscriber.
