India's apex court seeks govt response

India's apex court yesterday asked the federal government to give its reply to petitions challenging the sweeping powers given to ten investigating agencies to intercept and monitor data on computers, including emails, that critics allege is against the right to privacy.

Allowing the petitions against the government's order, the Supreme Court gave six weeks to the government to file its reply.

The petitions filed by lawyer M L Sharma, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Mahua Moitra and others alleged that the government's order is against the fundamental right to privacy and must be withdrawn in the interest of justice.

Ten federal probe agencies have been given the powers of "interception, monitoring and decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer," according to a Home Ministry order signed by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba in December last year.

Earlier, only the Home Ministry could scan calls and emails of people. The new order gave that power under the Information Technology Act, 2010, to the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, National Investigation Agency, Cabinet Secretariat (Research and Analysis Wing), Directorate of Signal Intelligence (in Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Assam only) and the Delhi Police Commissioner.