Supreme Court directs Central Government to reply to petition seeking comprehensive regulation of search & seizure powers for electronic devices https://internetfreedom.in/supreme-court-directs-central-government-to-reply-to-petition-seeking-comprehensive-regulation-of-search-seizure-powers-for-electronic-devices/ existing laws do not regulate the police’s power to search or seize electronic devices. The lack of regulation enables the police to engage in dubious practices such as mandating individuals, with or without reasonable suspicion, to grant access to mobile devices; making clones of those devices; and sharing the information they obtain with third parties or governmental agencies. These practices violate the right to privacy and the constitutional guarantee against self-incrimination.
Since mobile devices are essentially an extension of ourselves, the lack of regulation on how they should be searched has enabled police to access troves of anyone’s personal information to the detriment of their right to privacy.
Full petition: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HoZuNGM6pkAePSayDXMucHZy_1wAnbBE/view?ref=static.internetfreedom.in
Mobile Phones and Criminal Investigations in India https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3590996