The hearing took place in the backdrop of the Pegasus revelations with TRAI initially arguing that revealing the information would render the surveillance infructuous. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India have resisted attempts by a Supreme Court lawyer to know if his phone was tapped, according to court documents shared with MediaNama by the lawyer's attorney in the Delhi High Court. Live Law first reported on developments in this case. Kabir Shankar Bose, a New Delhi-based lawyer, filed RTI applications to TRAI and MHA after receiving "credible information" that his phone was being tapped. When both organisations refused to confirm if this was the case, Bose appealed his way up to the Central Information Commission, which directed TRAI to provide this information. TRAI appealed to a single bench of the Delhi High Court, which allowed the appeal. A larger division bench on Monday stayed that appeal, and indicated that the "balance of convenience" was on the government's side, Live Law reported (the Delhi High Court has not uploaded a copy of the latest order in the case yet). Bose was appointed to represent the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of Tripura at the Supreme Court in June. He had filed his RTI with TRAI first on July 5, 2017. The next hearing is on December 13. This protracted legal battle was on the verge of setting a precedent for individuals who wanted to know if their phones were subject to legal interception. If the case is…
