Interception Of Calls Valid To Prevent Corruption, Economic Scale Of Offence Must Satisfy 'Public Safety' Threshold: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea filed by an accused against interception of calls and messages by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying that corruption has a pervasive impact on a nation's economy.Justice Amit Mahajan dismissed the plea moved by one Aakash Deep Chouhan, challenging a trial court order framing charges against him under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, read with Section 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. He further sought directions for expunging or destruction of telephonic messages and calls allegedly unlawfully intercepted by CBI.The CBI had alleged that the accused persons entered into a conspiracy for securing a sub-contract for steel work from M/s. Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. (P) Ltd. in favour of M/s. Capacite Structures Limited in the project awarded to it by M/s. NBCC (India) Ltd..It was alleged that one of the accused Pradeep, a public servant, had demanded a new motorcycle as illegal gratification to exercise his influence with senior functionaries of M/s. NBCC (India) Ltd. The said demand was conveyed by another accused Rishabh, who acted as a middleman to facilitate the transaction, to the accused Sanjay, the MD of M/s. Capacite Structures Limited, the CBI alleged.The agency further alleged that Chouhan, who was an employee of the accused Sanjay, had purchased the motorcycle that was to be given as bribe and delivered the same to the accused Pradeep.It was Chouhan's case that the interceptions were unlawfully and illegally carried out by CBI in violation of his fundamental rights and statutory safeguards and accordingly, the same were inadmissible as evidence. It was also submitted that the material brought forth by CBI after investigation, including the calls, did not make out a case of “grave suspicion” against Chouhan.On the other hand, the CBI submitted that destruction of the intercepted calls was not warranted and the condition precedent of public safety, as prescribed under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, was met in the case. It was also submitted that the allegations against Chouhan pertained to corruption which poses a risk on the economic well being of the country and its people.Rejecting the plea, the Court observed that although every person has a fundamental right to privacy, the said right is not absolute and it can be curtailed by procedure established by law.It added that the Central Government or a State Government or any officer specially authorised is empowered to legally carry out interception or surveillance in the event of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.Finding merit in CBI's submission, the Court said:“Corruption has a pervasive impact on a nation's economy and the same can impact anything from infrastructural development to resource allocation. Corruption by a public servant has far reaching consequences as it serves to not only erode public trust and cast aspersions on the integrity of public institutions, but also renders the public at large susceptible and vulnerable by threatening the economic safety of the country.”Justice Mahajan further observed that the allegations in the case were grave in nature and, if proven, would render dubious the entire process of awarding of tenders and bids on the basis of personal influence with senior officers rather than benefit of the public at large.“The economic scale of the offence, in the opinion of this Court, satisfies the threshold of “public safety”,” the Court said. It said that the interception orders passed by the Ministry of Home Affairs showed that the same were passed “for the reason of public safety” in the interest of public order to prevent incitement to commission of an offence. “In view of the above, this Court is of the opinion that the interception was carried out in accordance with law, and therefore, no case is made out for destruction of the transcripts,” the Court said.In a related development, the Madras High Court has recently held that an individual's phone cannot be tapped in a secret operation to detect the commission of a crime, and the same would violate the individual's fundamental right to privacy.It noted that phone tapping would be justified only on two conditions: the occurrence of a public emergency or in the interest of public safety. The court also highlighted that these situations/ contingencies should be apparent to a reasonable man.Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Vaibhav Dubey, Adv. (through VC) Mr. Kumar Vaibhav, Mr. Gautam Khazanchi and Mr. Mohd. Ashaab, AdvCounsel for Respondents: Mr. Ravi Sharma, SPP-CBI with Mr. Swapnil Choudhary, Mr. Ishaan Bhardwaj, Mr. Shivam Mishra & Ms. Madhulika Rai Sharma, Advs. for CBI; Mr. Ripudaman Bhardwaj, CGSC with Mr. Kushagra Kansal and Mr. Amit Kumar Rana, Advs. for R2 / UOITitle: AAKASH DEEP CHOUHAN v. CBI & ANRCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 766Click here to read order

Interception Of Calls Valid To Prevent Corruption, Economic Scale Of Offence Must Satisfy 'Public Safety' Threshold: Delhi High Court

Nupur Thapliyal

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