CBI asked to stay updated on rules for seizing gadgets

New Delhi, December 5

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Asking the CBI to evolve with the passage of time, the Supreme Court on Monday said, “The world has changed, CBI should also change”.

The comment came from a Bench led by Justice SK Kaul during the hearing of a PIL filed by five academicians seeking guidelines for seizure of personal electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops by probe agencies.

As the petitioners’ counsel told the Bench that the manuals for investigation agencies were being updated the world over on the privacy issue, the Bench said the CBI Manual, which provided for the procedure to be adopted during an investigation, might need updating.

The Bench posted the matter for hearing in the week commencing February 7 next year after Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said that the Centre had already filed an affidavit and it could be finally heard.

Asserting that the right to privacy was not absolute, the Centre had earlier told the Supreme Court that a blanket order to return all personal digital devices such as cell phones and laptops belonging to individuals under probe.

In an affidavit filed in the top court, the Centre said while the right to privacy existed in all jurisdictions across the world, its regulation through statutory law was permissible and there could be no blanket exclusions. — TNS

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The SC comment came during the hearing of a PIL filed by five academicians seeking guidelines for seizure of electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops by probe agencies.