Can’t object to seizure on privacy grounds: ED

The Enforcement Directorate has asserted that the seizure of mobile phones and extraction of data for investigative purposes cannot be objected to on the grounds of privacy, arguing that such actions are justified within the framework of law enforcement. ED’s stance came in response to petitions challenging its recent search and seizure operations in Tamil Nadu, where it confiscated mobile phones of certain individuals in connection with its probe into an alleged multi-crore liquor scam involving Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation. Quoting the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in the 2017 Puttaswamy case, which recognised privacy as a fundamental right but subject to reasonable restrictions, ED contended that governmental interest in crime detection constitutes a valid limitation on privacy rights. The rights of the TASMAC employees cannot trump a law enforcement agency demanding access to mobile phones and other personal digital devices, ED said in its affidavit filed before a bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar. The agency filed its affidavit before the high court on April 1 in response to the two petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government and TASMAC seeking that the search and seizure proceedings conducted by ED between March 6 and 8 be declared illegal.