[url="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article2725464.ece"]Now, RAW can legally intercept calls, e-mails[/url] : The Hindu, December 18, 2011
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Quote:[size="4"]It is one of eight agencies allowed to do so[/size]
Amid a raging controversy over its plan to screen social media, the UPA government has added and notified the external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), to the list of eight agencies to intercept phone calls, e-mails and data communications.
Highly placed government sources said the RAW's addition to the list is aimed at giving it a legal cover for intercepting phone calls, e-mails and voice and data communication domestically. This is the first time that the R&AW, since it was formed in 1967, has been authorised to tap phone calls. The sources said the notification was issued by the Home Ministry recently.
The move came nearly two weeks after The-Hindu carried a series of write-ups, working in collaboration with WikiLeaks, on communications intelligence capabilities.
The sources said the RAW would not be able to deploy its communication interception equipment at international gateways to snoop on all forms of data, be it international telephony emanating from India or any form of electronic data including e-mails.
The sources pointed out that investigators had tapped conversations of terrorists, who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, getting instructions from their handlers in Pakistan. ââ¬ÅFor such an evidence to be admissible legally, it was felt that it must be given legal sanctity,ââ¬Â the sources said.
Significantly, it was only last year that the Union government faced flak from courts on phone tapping, prompting it to tell the States to adhere to the guidelines strictly.
On the questions of a citizen's rights and privacy, the Home Ministry had reiterated that law enforcement agencies could tap phones of any individual for security or operational reasons for 72 hours even without permission from the Union Home Secretary or the State Home Secretary.
In such a case, if the agency concerned does not get permission, it will have to destroy the tapped conversations within 48 hours, official sources said.
All requests by the Central government agencies, including those under the Finance Ministry and the Central Bureau of Investigation, need the approval of the Union Home Secretary.
But senior officials admit that the goof-ups have put a question mark on the integrity of the system which is not foolproof. They do not rule out the possibility of more innocent citizens being put on the list of suspects.
60-day limit
Initially, the approval to tap phones is given for 60 days; if the request is repeated for another 60 days, the agency concerned has to give detailed reasons. Yet another extension of 60 days is permissible, but no permission is given beyond 180 days, the sources said.
The Supreme Court, in the PUCL vs Union of India in 1997, had ruled that telephone conversation in private, without interference, would come within the purview of the right to privacy as mandated in the Constitution; and unlawful means of phone tapping amounted to invasion of privacy and were uncivilised and undemocratic in nature.
On average, 5,000 to 6,000 telephones are tapped daily across the country by the Central investigation and intelligence agencies, the sources said. There are nearly 690 million mobile and landline telephone subscribers in India.
The sources feel that with the Adarsh scam, the Commonwealth Games scandal, and the 2G spectrum scam breaking out, the interception or tapping of phones and e-mail could reach higher levels, and many more details indicating the involvement of more persons in the scams could tumble out as different investigation agencies go ahead with probes.
ââ¬ÅOf these, a majority relate to terror networks, and 10-12 per cent pertains to economic offences, including those involved in hawala dealings,ââ¬Â the sources said.
Intelligence and security agencies often keep tabs on the activities of terrorist groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, and Naxals.
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