The Supreme Court has restrained the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying data from electronic devices seized during searches conducted on “lottery king” Santiago Martin, his relatives and employees in November.
The central law enforcement agency had conducted the searches in six states following a complaint by Meghalaya Police. The police had alleged that Martin’s company, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, had illegally captured the lottery business in the state.
The searches had led to Rs 12.4 crore in cash being seized, according to The Indian Express.
In a December 13 interim order, Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal directed the Future Gaming case to be heard along with other matters about electronic devices being seized.
The four cases listed in Future Gaming’s plea include those filed by petitioners in the NewsClick case who are seeking guidelines from the court on the seizure of mobile phones and laptops by the Delhi Police in October 2023 and Amazon India employees challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s demands to submit their digital devices.
The petitioners have sought to protect their fundamental right to privacy.
The Supreme Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate not to access or copy the contents of Martin’s mobile phone and other electronic devices belonging to the employees of Future Gaming.
The bench also stayed the summons issued by the central agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act “for the purpose of extraction of data” stored in the devices.
The court order could set an important precedent for other cases, lawyer Rohini Musa, who filed the petition for Future Gaming, told The Indian Express.
“The first thing is the Supreme Court has not given a date for the restraint against the ED to be lifted,” Musa told the newspaper. “The other thing is besides the infringement of fundamental rights and the rights of privacy, it should be ensured the ED does not embark on a fishing expedition, and does not force the petitioner [Santiago Martin] to incriminate himself in this and other cases via the material found in the electronic devices.”
The petition argued that there are currently no procedures prescribed for unrestricted seizures of and access to digital devices, which may lead to a fishing or roving inquiry, The Indian Express reported.
The data stored on mobile phones would include “sensitive personal information” such as financial details, passwords and medical records. The seized devices could have work-related data and strategy documents stored on them.
Future Gaming and Hotel Services purchased Rs 1,368 crore worth of electoral bonds in 22 phases, data released by the Election Commission in March showed. This is more than any other firm in India.
Also read: The lottery kingpin who delivered electoral bond jackpot to political parties
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