A group of five academicians and researchers filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking guidelines to govern the seizure and examination of personal digital devices and their contents by investigation agencies in the country, Bar and Bench reported on Monday. The petitioners argued that tampering with or damaging research data can result in a considerable and irreplaceable loss. The Supreme Court has agreed to look into this plea and directed the Central government to respond within four weeks. It also sought more information on guidelines issued by other countries on this subject matter. The petition was submitted by Ram Ramaswamy, former JNU professor, Sujata Patel, professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University, Madhava Prasad, professor of Cultural Studies at the English and Foreign Languages University, Mukul Kesavan, professor of Modern Indian history at Jamia Millia Islamia, and Deepak Malghan, theoretical ecological economist. The petitioners argued that investigative agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have unguided power to take possession of devices that "contain much if not all of a citizen’s personal and professional life". In the recent past, several such devices have been seized from people from the academic field, the report added. "The academic community does and stores its research and writing in the electronic or digital medium, and the threat of damage, distortion, loss or premature exposure of academic or literary work in the event of seizure of electronic devices is considerable," the petition stated. The plea states that currently device…
