Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday accused the Congress party of spreading ill-information regarding the authorisation granted to 10 investigating agencies to intercept and monitor information in any computer source.
Jaitley took to social media explaining the decision while slamming the Congress for speaking without understanding.
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“Congress Party is running since morning an ill-informed campaign that Govt. has allowed snooping on computers and is violating the Right of Privacy. The Congress Party has got into the habit of speaking out first and understanding the issue only subsequently,” he said.
“Congress Party talks first and thinks later. There is no general snooping order. The power to intercept in the interest of national security and public order already exists in law. This is only an order as to who are the authorised agencies,” he clarified.
The Finance Minister said that the Information Technology Act, which has been in existence for almost two decades, authorises to direct a notified agency to intercept or monitor or decrypt an information stored in a computer resource “in the interest of sovereignty, integrity etc”.
“There are safeguards, as prescribed by the Supreme Court, which are included in the rules. An interception or monitoring is only authorised under an specific approval of the Home Secretary,” he said.
“The rules required authorised agencies to be notified. In the absence of this authorisation, any police officer may start exercising the power,” Jaitley added.
The Finance Minister also said that P Chidambaram, when he was the Home Minister during the UPA-II regime, had backed the same power of interception.
“In fact, during UPA-II in a detailed debate in Parliament relating to a corporate lobbyist, the then Home Minister Shri P Chidambaram strongly defended this power of interception being given to taxation authorities,” said the Finance Minister.
Jaitley argued that such an action will help in checking terrorist activities.
“The power existed and was used during the UPA Government also. How else will terrorists who use technology extensively be traced? Otherwise, the terrorists will use IT, but the intelligence and investigative agencies will be crippled,” he said.
Earlier today, the Cyber and Information Security division of the Ministry of Home Affairs authorised 10 investigating agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer source under 69 (1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. They were also authorised to intercept as well as tap phones.
The probe agencies authorised to do so include Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, Cabinet Secretariat (RAW), Directorate of Signal Intelligence (For J-K, North-East and Assam only) and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
Read More: Govt empowers probe agencies to snoop on any computer, intercept data
Opposition leaders criticised the government over the decision.
Chidambaram likened the order with the Orwellian state — a condition that George Orwell identified as destructive for a free society.
“Not studied the matter, but if anybody is going to monitor computers then it is an Orwellian state,” he was quoted as saying by media reports.
West Bengal Chief Minister raised questions on independence and privacy. “This notification should be withdrawn as it can be misused,” she said.
“Sweeping powers given to central agencies to snoop phone calls and computers without any checks is extremely dangerous. This step is a direct assault on civil liberties in general and fundamental right to privacy of citizens in particular, guaranteed by Indian constitution,” tweeted Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Following the criticism, the Union Home Ministry on Friday issued a clarification stating that the notification “does not confer any new powers” and “every individual case will continue to require prior approval” of the Ministry and the state government.
The statement of the Ministry said that “adequate safeguards” were provided in the Information and Technology (IT) Act 2000 and similar provisions and procedures already existed in the Telegraph Act along with identical safeguards.
“The present notification is analogous to the authorisation issued under the Telegraph Act. The entire process is also subject to a robust review mechanism as in case of Telegraph Act. Every individual case will continue to require prior approval of Home Ministry or state government. MHA has not delegated its powers to any law enforcement or security agency,” said the statement.
