NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to Centre on a plea to make intelligence agencies accountable to Parliament.
The apex court has sought response from Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) on plea to bring them under oversight of Parliament and CAG.
Granting six weeks time to the Centre and intelligence agencies to file their response, the SC has asked the Attorney General to assist it.
Earlier on Friday, the SC agreed to hear a plea that questioned the very basis of policing powers being exercised by IB, RAW and NTRO in the absence of statutory provisions.
"Can you have a police without the Police Act? Can there be any power or authority without a law to regulate them? These intelligence agencies have several policing powers. They can tap anybody's phone. How can these agencies exercise policing power without there being statutes for them?" questioned senior advocate Anil Divan.
A bench led by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir was hearing a PIL, seeking regulation of the intelligence agencies in line with the supervisory mechanisms available in the US and UK.
Seeking to bring the agencies under an Act to be passed by Parliament and to ensure they are not misused by the government, the plea by NGO CPIL claimed that the agencies were acting "without any sanction of the law" and hence violated the rule of law under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Make intelligence agencies accountable to Parliament: SC to Centre
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Make intelligence agencies accountable to Parliament: SC to Centre
