While the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by State government expedited the probe into complaints of ‘illegal phone-tapping’, the Telecom Enforcement and Resource Monitoring (TERM) Cell based in the city has so far not received any instructions from the Department of Telecommunications to conduct an inquiry. The DoT will do that at the behest of Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).
Headed by a Deputy Director General (DDG), the TERM Cell has jurisdiction over entire Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, excluding the Hyderabad Telecom District.
The DDG takes orders from the MoHA through the DoT with no interface in between, either with the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) authorised to ‘intercept’ the conversations, or any other department.
The role of the TERM Cell is limited to providing access to telecommunication networks through its mass electronic surveillance programme developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics and look into complaints of ‘illegal tapping’ upon instructions from the DoT.
A senior official of TERM Cell told The Hindu that telephonic conversations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, like anywhere in the country, could be intercepted only by authorised LEA in compliance with orders from the respective Home Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGP) after obtaining prior permission from the MoHA. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of either State is also supposed to follow the established procedure, which is to get requests for interception ratified by State Home Secretary and DGP.
In the present case of alleged ‘illegal tapping’ of phones of Ministers and some top politicians of A.P, the TERM Cell has so far not been involved in ascertaining of the facts but it may eventually be roped in to find whose privacy was actually invaded and by whom and whether the rules under Section 5 (2) of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 have been adhered to, the official observed.
