LANDMARK CASE
People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India
(1997) 1 SCC 301 · Supreme Court of India · Constitutional law
At a glance
- Citation: (1997) 1 SCC 301
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Constitutional law
- In one line: Tapping violates privacy unless permitted by procedure. The Court laid down safeguards including review committees.
1 Facts
PUCL challenged telephone tapping under the Telegraph Act.
2 Issue
Does telephone tapping violate privacy, and what safeguards are needed?
3 What the court decided
Tapping violates privacy unless permitted by procedure. The Court laid down safeguards including review committees.
4 Why it matters
It shaped surveillance law and was relevant in the Aadhaar and Pegasus debates.
5 Think about it
Are these safeguards enough for modern digital surveillance?
6 Analyse it yourself
Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.
7 More cases on Constitutional law
- A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras AIR 1950 SC 27
- ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976) 2 SCC 521
- Air India v. Nergesh Meerza (1981) 4 SCC 335
- Ajay Hasia v. Khalid Mujib Sehravardi (1981) 1 SCC 722
- Anuj Garg v. Hotel Association of India (2008) 3 SCC 1
- Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020) 3 SCC 637
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