MeitY grants Home Secretary, state counterparts power to delete surveillance data every six months

MeitY brought in these amendments in the IT Rules of 2009, which lays down the framework for conducting interception and monitoring of information

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has expanded the authority to destroy surveillance records, granting the Union Home Secretary and state counterparts the power to purge such data every six months.

This move, outlined in a recent gazette notification on February 26, marks a departure from the previous protocol, which restricted this authority to 10 security agencies, such as the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Cabinet Secretariat (RAW), National Investigation Agency, CBI, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, etc.

This amendment was notified by the IT Ministry on February 26 in the Rule 23, sub-rule 1 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules of 2009.

The amended Rule 23 (1) of IT Rules 2009 now reads, "Every record, including electronic records pertaining to such directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of information and of intercepted or monitored or decrypted information shall be destroyed by the security agency and competent authority in every six months except in a case where such information is required or likely to be required for functional requirements.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier clarified that a "competent authority"  when it comes to cases of interception, monitoring and decryption is the Union Home Secretary.

"These powers also available to the competent authority in State governments as per IT (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules 2009," the MHA had said in 2018.

On February 26, MeitY also notified computer resources of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as "critical information infrastructure" under Section 70 of the IT Act 2000.