Supreme Court Rules: Deleting Messages from Mobile Phones Is Not a Crime
High Court Clarifies that Erasing Data from Phones Doesn't Constitute Evidence Tampering Amid Rising Privacy Concerns
In today’s world, when a crime occurs, the first thing investigators look for is the criminal’s mobile phone. They search through the criminal’s calls and messages, hoping to find any link to the crime. But what if the criminal deletes those messages and calls? This very issue was brought before the country’s highest court. Deleting messages and calls from a mobile phone was presented as tampering with evidence. However, the Supreme Court ruled that deleting messages from a phone is not a crime.
What did the Court say?
The Supreme Court acknowledged that people frequently switch from old phones to new ones. The bench, comprising Justices B.R. and K.V. Viswanathan, stated that mobile phones are regularly upgraded, which can lead to the deletion of old messages. The court considered mobile phones to be personal property. Messages and other content can be deleted due to privacy concerns. Additionally, the presence of too many photos, videos, and messages can slow down the phone’s performance.
What do experts say?
Mobile experts regularly advise deleting unnecessary messages, photos, and videos to enhance the phone’s speed. This is especially important for smartphone users with low RAM and storage capacity, as deleting such content is necessary to maintain the device’s performance.
Rules regarding mobile phones
In India, there are no specific rules solely for mobile phones. However, the central government has recently amended the IT Act to include new regulations. The IT Act primarily contains regulations for social media, while actions related to mobile phones are governed by the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
According to these regulations, if you threaten someone via a mobile call or message, you can be fined and jailed under Indian law. Moreover, privacy violations through mobile phones are not allowed. According to the Supreme Court’s decision, sharing the name and photo of a rape victim on social media or via mobile phone is a violation of the law.
