The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Centre on public interest litigation claiming that citizens' right to privacy was being endangered by the execution and operation of surveillance systems such as CMS (the Centralised Monitoring System), NETRA (Network Traffic Analysis) and NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid).
A bench of Chief Justice consists of DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the ministries of Home Affairs, Information Technology, Communications & Law and Justice, seeking their stand on the petition by an NGO and listed the matter for hearing on January 7, 2021.
The plea by non-governmental organization Centre for Public Interest Litigation has claimed that these surveillance systems allow central and state law enforcement agencies to intercept and monitor all telecommunications massively which is a violation of the fundamental right to privacy of individuals. The appeal, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has contended that under the existing legal structure there is an "insufficient oversight mechanism" to authorize and review the interception and monitoring orders issued by the state agencies.
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