Comments on Legal Framework Governing Telecommunication in India.

SFLC.in submitted comments to the Department of Telecommunications (‘DoT’) on its Consultation Paper titled ‘Need for a new legal framework governing Telecommunications in India’ published on July 23 2022.
Exponential growth of telecommunication services and increased reliance on these services by both the urban and rural sections of the country have made them essential for the growth of the country. The Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding, Telecommunication services are absolutely critical for economic growth but have also become necessary for achieving Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) such as education, healthcare, connectivity, amongst other things. Increasing access to ICT services is a SDG and is considered to be a tacit part of achieving other SDGs. Right to Privacy is a fundamental right of the citizens on India as held by the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in Justice KS Puttaswamy v Union of India (Privacy-9J.). Any surveillance regime should be in compliance with the principles of necessity and proportionality with proper judicial and parliamentary oversight. The Government of India must be lauded for floating the Consultation Paper and allowing stakeholders to provide comments. The Telecommunication sector is one of India’s most prized sectors from both - an economic and societal context, and hence, the Department of Telecommunications has a huge role in ensuring universal, resilient, secure and accessible telecommunication services are available for each citizen – whether in rural or urban India. We can then achieve the much sought-after goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

Our submission to the Department of Telecommunications can be found below.