The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which sought initiation of action against internet companies for sharing internet data from India to National Security Agency of US, saying that Indian agency is not involved in it. The court also said that it cannot direct the Parliament to enact law to safeguard privacy of citizens against such snooping.
A bench of Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Ranjan Gogoi allowed petitioner S N Singh, former dean of the Law Faculty, University of Delhi, to move any other forum for seeking remedy against internet companies and the US agency for snooping data resulting in violation of right to privacy.
The court, during the last hearing of the PIL, had said that it cannot pass any order against the US government and its agencies as it has no jurisdiction over them.
The PIL by Prof Singh had sought action against internet companies, which have allowed sharing of internet data from India with US National Security Agency and thus causing serious threat to the security of the country. The petition said that spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the court to intervene in the matter.
The PIL had sought directions from the court to the central government to take urgent steps to safeguard the government's sensitive internet communications which are being kept outside India in US servers and are unlawfully intruded upon by US Intelligence Agencies through US-based Internet companies under secret surveillance program called PRISM.
The petition had demanded that the government and its officials be restrained from using US-based internet companies for official communication and all such companies, which are doing business in India, must establish their servers in India so that they can be regulated as per Indian laws.
A bench of Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Ranjan Gogoi allowed petitioner S N Singh, former dean of the Law Faculty, University of Delhi, to move any other forum for seeking remedy against internet companies and the US agency for snooping data resulting in violation of right to privacy.
The court, during the last hearing of the PIL, had said that it cannot pass any order against the US government and its agencies as it has no jurisdiction over them.
The PIL by Prof Singh had sought action against internet companies, which have allowed sharing of internet data from India with US National Security Agency and thus causing serious threat to the security of the country. The petition said that spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the court to intervene in the matter.
The PIL had sought directions from the court to the central government to take urgent steps to safeguard the government's sensitive internet communications which are being kept outside India in US servers and are unlawfully intruded upon by US Intelligence Agencies through US-based Internet companies under secret surveillance program called PRISM.
The petition had demanded that the government and its officials be restrained from using US-based internet companies for official communication and all such companies, which are doing business in India, must establish their servers in India so that they can be regulated as per Indian laws.