Govt to frame guidelines on seizure of digital, paper records amid privacy concerns

The Union government is preparing a unified set of guidelines for the seizure and handling of documents, both digital and paper, by investigative agencies, reported TOI. This comes as the focus shifts towards protecting personal conversations and documents unrelated to alleged crimes during investigations.

A recent Supreme Court ruling had put a hold on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) efforts to recover all digital records from the iPhone of lottery king Santiago Martin, seized during a November search, according to the TOI report. Martin had argued that his phone contained personal chats unrelated to the money laundering investigation against him.

The Supreme Court, which granted relief to Martin, will consider the case along with a similar one filed by Amazon on January 6. The government is expected to outline its steps on formulating the guidelines during the hearing.


The new guidelines are expected to address concerns over privacy violations, especially with the increasing use of electronic devices for criminal activities, noted the TOI report. Investigative agencies, however, argue that maintaining operational effectiveness is crucial in the digital age.

Amazon has also challenged the ED’s demand for copies of all its emails with vendors in an ongoing probe related to violations of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules. The ED’s investigation focuses on whether e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart influenced pricing and engaged in predatory practices through their preferred vendors.

According to TOI, a probe agency official noted that the new guidelines, once approved by the Supreme Court, could streamline investigations and trials, mitigating frequent legal challenges that disrupt proceedings.