In December 2022, P. Vaishnavi, a freelance journalist, approached the Supreme Court challenging the order of the High Court of Madras that directed the trial court to keep a copy of all necessary content and data from her mobile phone, without providing any safeguards. In the petition, it was highlighted that passing such a direction without any accompanying safeguards with respect to storage and sharing of data, insufficiently protects the individual’s constitutional rights. Further, such a broad based direction is an impermissible violation of the rights to privacy and against self incrimination. Disappointingly, the Supreme Court was not inclined to issue notice in the petition and dismissed it on 12.02.2023.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://internetfreedom.in/the-supreme-court-refuses-special-leave-petition-challenging-the-unconstitutional-retention-of-mobile-data-of-journalists/