New Rules for Lawful Interception of Telecommunications

Procedure for interception of messages by authorized agencies:

The Central Government may by order specify one or more authorized agencies to intercept or receive messages or class of messages pursuant to an interception order passed under the Telecom Act.

Interception orders for directing interception of messages may be passed by the ‘competent authority’, i.e., the Union Home Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (in case of the Central Government) or Secretary to the State Government in charge of the Home Department (in case of a State Government).

All interception orders issued by the ‘competent authority’ shall be submitted to the relevant review committee (Review Committee) of the Central or State Government, within a period of 7 working days. It is also necessary that the relevant authority should have ensured that it would not be possible to acquire the necessary information by any other reasonable means.

In unavoidable circumstances, interception orders may be passed by an authorized officer not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the Central Government. Further, in emergent cases in remote areas or for operational reasons, where it is not feasible for the ‘competent authority’ to issue an interception order, the Rules prescribe an alternate procedure that can be followed. In such cases, the interception order may be issued by the ‘head’ or second senior most officer not below the rank of Inspector General of Police of an authorized agency, subject to certain processes and safeguards. It is also necessary to submit the order to the designated ‘competent authority’ for its confirmation, failing which the interception cannot take place.

Constituents of interception order: The Rules prescribe the information that must be stipulated in the interception order. This includes the name of the authorized agency that will undertake the interception, reasons for undertaking interception and the period (subject to a maximum of 60 calendar days, and extendable to 180 days in certain cases) for which the interception order shall remain in force.

Record keeping: According to the Rules, the relevant authorized agency undertaking interception pursuant to an interception order must maintain secure records as prescribed. This includes records of the intercepted messages, particulars of the person whose messages were intercepted, name and particulars of the officer to whom intercepted messages were disclosed, number of copies made, date of destruction of copies, etc. Such records are required to be deleted every 6 months, unless required for functional requirements. DoT is also required to destroy such records within 2 months of discontinuance of the interception in a particular case. 

Implementation of an interception order: For implementing an interception order passed pursuant to the established process, 2 nodal officers each are required to be appointed by the authorized agency, DoT and Telecom Entity (note that DoT and Telecom Entity must appoint 2 nodal officers in every telecom service area). No other officers are permitted to handle matters relating to an interception order. Additionally, adequate and effective safeguards must be implemented to prevent unauthorized interception of messages and ensure that confidentiality and secrecy is maintained. Timelines have also been prescribed for nodal officers of DoT and Telecom Entity to acknowledge the interception orders and submit fortnightly reports to the authorized agency that issued it.

Constitution of Review Committee: The Rules envisage that Review Committees will be constituted at a Central and State level. Such Review Committees, comprising of senior bureaucrats from the Government, will be entrusted with ensuring that interception orders are passed in accordance with the Telecom Act and the Rules. The relevant Review Committee may set aside an interception order, order destruction of copies of intercepted messages in case it is of the opinion that the interception order does not meet the conditions.