Right To Privacy Bill 2011 - New Proposed Law

[rajanmehta 4,056]

There are concerns in India over breach of privacy, leaks of interception & monitoring. It seems government is finally taking notice and planning a new law named Right to Privacy Bill 2011. A three member Data Protection Authority of India is proposed to be set up. There is a report in today's Indian Express.

New Privacy Bill: Data Protection Authority, Jail Term For Offence

Rattled by leakage of authorised and non-authorised phone taps, the UPA government is planning to set up a three-member Data Protection Authority of India, whose main functions would include monitoring and enforcing compliance of the proposed data protection laws and to "investigate any data security breach".

The authority is just one of the many measures aimed at "safeguarding the security interests of all affected individuals in the personal data that has or is likely to have been compromised by such a breach" under the Right to Privacy Bill, 2011.

The Act proposes a maximum punishment of five years and/or fine of Rs 7 lakh for the first offence and Rs 10 lakh for every subsequent offence.

The Bill, a copy of which is with The Sunday Express, proposes to put in place a system to protect not just the privacy of an individual and secure all intercepted material, including phone taps, but also his "honour and good name". The proposed law also aims to empower an individual or group of individuals to take legal recourse to protect the "confidentiality of his private or family life"; seek protection from "search, detention or exposure of lawful communication": have privacy from surveillance: ensure confidentiality of his banking and financial transactions as well as his/her medical and legal information.

Work on drafting the Bill began in December last year after the uproar over selective leakage of intercepted phone conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and her clients. Under the prevailing laws, a "wrongly" wiretapped person has no real protection, before or after the tapping.

While defending the government agencies' right to resort to phone tapping to deal with issues like crime and tax evasion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had acknowledged that such steps should be well regulated and not misused. He had then asked Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily to prepare a law aimed at codifying privacy laws in the country.

Under the proposed law, interception of any communication by any government agency can be done only under the orders of an officer not below the rank of home secretary in the Centre and states. To prevent any leakage, the Act proposes to make it mandatory for the authority that allowed the interception to maintain a detailed record of all the intercepted communication, the sharing, if any, between agencies, duplication/copying, number of copies, etc.

All intercepted communication, as well as its copies, would have to be destroyed within a period of six months, the only exception being if it is needed for "functional requirements".

[digitalnirvana 646]

Much needed but should not be misused to render RTI bill useless.