The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has written to the Prime Minister?s office (PMO) suggesting the imposition of a penalty between Rs 0.1 million and Rs 20 million for breaches of different sections of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, which includes illegal phone tapping.
A maximum penalty has been suggested for breach of Section 26 of the Act, which prohibits telegraph officers or other officials from making away with or altering, unlawfully intercepting or disclosing messages, or divulging the purport of signals. As per the existing Act, any breach of this section attracts imprisonment, which may extend up to three years, along with a fine of Rs 500.
The proposed amendment to the Indian Telegraph Act is likely to be tabled in the Parliament shortly. Amendments to the Indian Telegraph Rules for electronic provision and collection of call data records (CDRs) have also been proposed. A decision is likely to be taken on these amendments by the end of the coming Budget session of Parliament.
In fact, the DoT?s note also points out that there is a provision under the Telegraph Act to destroy the copies of communication intercepted by the government in case the review committee — mandated to meet at least once in two months — finds that the interception is not in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act and Rules.
The DoT has also completely eliminated any increase of liability on operators, saying such provisions already exist and are stringent enough to discourage the repeat of any act of leaking or making public any such private conversation in the future. A penalty of up to Rs 500 million can be levied on operators for the breach of any licensee terms and conditions.
