The Court has said that as per Rule 419A of the Rules framed under the Telegraph Act, the order of the Home Secretary granting permission to intercept telephonic conversations is to be forwarded to the review committee within seven days of passing the order. However, in this case there was no material on record to establish that any review of the order of the Home Secretary was conducted.
“This Court is of the view that as per Section 5 (2) of the Telegraph Act, an order for interception can be issued on either the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of the public safety as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of PUCL (Supra). After the perusal of the records, this Court is satisfied that in peculiar facts of the instant case, the mandatory requirements laid down by law for placing reliance on such audio conversations, have not been fulfilled. It is an admitted position that Rule 419(A)(17) which provides for destruction of intercepted message also adopt the said directions. The court below while passing the impugned orders has also ignored the settled legal positions and directions of the Supreme Court.”
Justice Singh, therefore, held that tape-records of the intercepted calls are not admissible, since the due procedure for interception and the Rules framed under the Telegraph Act were not followed by the authorities.
The single-judge said that the main basis of the matter was that the bribe had been paid to bypass certain rules of the MCI also does not hold, since there was no such condition in the rules back then as has been alleged by the CBI.
The Court held that the statement of the accused is also inadmissible as it was taken without sanction from the appropriate authority, and since the public servant accused of taking the bribe has already been discharged, the petitioner herein cannot be prosecuted under the PC Act.
“Thus, in an offence alleging conspiracy, where the main conspirator has been discharged and in the absence of evidence implicating the petitioner as a co-conspirator alleged to be a middle-man, there is no point in continuing with the case and keep the entire criminal justice machinery running endlessly especially in light of the fact that the criminal proceedings had been initiated ten years back and has stayed pending ever since,” the Court said.
It, therefore, allowed the petition and set aside the special court’s order.
Source: Barandbench
