The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre, as well as investigative bodies such as the CBI, ED, and others, in response to a plea seeking guidelines for the search and seizure of digital devices.
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta directed the Centre, CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax department, Delhi Police, and others to provide their responses to the petition filed by news portal NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha.
The court stated that this matter will be heard in conjunction with other pending petitions addressing similar concerns.
At the commencement of the hearing, the bench expressed reservations about parties directly approaching the apex court under Article 32 of the Constitution, emphasizing the need for appropriate proceedings. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, justified their approach, citing similar pending petitions and the expectation for the Centre to formulate guidelines as indicated in those cases.
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The apex court had previously directed the Centre on November 7 last year to establish guidelines for the seizure of electronic devices, particularly those belonging to media professionals.
During the hearing last month, the Centre informed the court that discussions were ongoing to formulate these guidelines. In the interim, it assured that central probe agencies would adhere to the CBI manual for the search and seizure of electronic equipment.
Notably, on October 19 last year, the Supreme Court sought the response of the Delhi Police regarding separate pleas from NewsClick founder and its HR head, Amit Chakravarty, challenging their arrests under the anti-terror law UAPA.
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The Delhi High Court had dismissed their pleas on October 13, 2023, against arrest and subsequent police remand. Both individuals were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on October 3, 2023, on charges related to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), alleging their involvement in spreading pro-China propaganda and receiving money. The accused have consistently denied these allegations.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal allegedly came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country.
