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

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.