Interception records to be destroyed half yearly: Rules

EXPERTS HAVE RAISED CONCERN OVER THE NEW RULES ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY

- Aditi Agrawal

All records related to interception, including the orders and the intercepted messages, must be securely and "with extreme secrecy" destroyed by the government's review committee, as well as the authorizing entities — Union or state home secretary — and law enforcement agencies, every six months, according to the new interception rules notified by the Centre, with experts raising questions about accountability and transparency.

The Telecommunications (Procedures and Safeguards for Lawful Interception of Messages) Rules, 2024 — which replace Rule 419 and 419A of the Telegraph Rules, 1951 — were brought into effect by the department of telecommunications (DoT) on Friday. They have been issued under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, which allows the Centre to specify one or more agencies to intercept messages for five reasons related to national security and public order.