Govt sets up an Inter-Ministerial-Group to prevent leak of tapped conversations
merisarkar news service April 10, 2011
IMG to prevent leak of such conversations
The Government has set up a 15-member Inter Ministerial Group for recommending effective monitoring of provisions of telephone tapping and curtailing its leakage to the public at large.
According to a Cabinet Secretary note, the group includes secretaries of Defence, DoT, IT, Revenue, Personnel and Legal Affairs as among the members. The Union Home Secretary will chair the group.
The IMG which also comprises Chiefs of Intelligence Bureau, CBI, Narcotics Control Bureau, NIA, DRI and ED, Member CBDT and Additional DG of Signal Intelligence (Defence Ministry). The group will draw up uniform processes and procedures including Standard Operating Procedures for usage of tapped phones and destruction of non-relevant information.
The Inter Ministerial Group will also draw up regulation and prevention of misuse of off-the-air interception using GSM and CDMA phones. Mutual exchange of telephone intercepts between two probe agencies may also be redefined whereby only excerpts would be handed over investigating agency. The decision to form this IMG was taken after a high level meeting held recently chaired by Prime Minister.
