Phone tapping a severe intrusion on privacy: Chhattisgarh HC calls for strict compliance with law

Telephone wiretapping is a severe intrusion upon the fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution and strict adherence to statutory procedures under Section 20(2) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 is a must for such an exercise, the Chhattisgarh High Court recently held.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal made the observation while setting aside a CBI interception order used to build a corruption case against Ravi Shankar Ji Maharaj, chairperson of the Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SRISMR) at Raipur.

However, the Court declined to quash the FIR and chargesheet against him.

The petitioner was accused of large-scale conspiracy involving Health Ministry and NMC officials, intermediaries and private medical colleges to secure favourable inspection reports through bribes, ghost faculty and fake patients. The case against him was based substantially on intercepted phone calls.

During hearings, the Court had directed the Centre to clarify the interception's compliance chain.

The secretary of Department of Telecom filed an affidavit stating that the MHA's confirmation order dated July 4, 2025 covered the period from June 1 to July 31, 2025 starting nearly a month before the original authorisation itself.

The counsel for the petitioner argued this exposed a fatal jurisdictional defect, since a confirmatory order cannot retrospectively create authority to intercept.

The Court agreed.

"The confirmation contemplated under Rule 3(3)(b) is confirmatory in character; it cannot create jurisdiction retrospectively," the Court said.

Interception safeguards must be strictly, not merely substantially, complied with, the Bench underscored.

Significantly, the petitioner's counsel had fairly restricted the relief sought, agreeing not to press for quashing of the FIR or chargesheet, and stating he was willing to face trial based on other material collected during investigation.

The Court accepted this, set aside the interception authorisation, the MHA confirmation and the review committee's proceedings, while directing destruction of the intercepted material and allowing the trial to proceed on the remaining evidence.

Senior Advocate Manu Sharma assisted by Pankaj Pandey, Girish Tripathi, Abhuday Sharma and Rahul Ambast, appeared for the petitioner.

Advocate Vaibhav A Goverdhan appeared for the CBI.

Deputy Solicitor General Ramakant Mishra appeared for the Union of India.

[Read Order]