RAMESH CHENNITHALA Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, MLA representing Harippad Assembly Constituency and the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, has filed this writ petition as a Public Interest Litigation, challenging Ext.P1 circular, whereby the second respondent has issued directions to the Additional Director General Police (Inte.) and Police Head Quarters to take up the matter with BSNL, VODAFONE and ensure collection of CDRs of COVID-19 positive patients.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the collection of CDRs of COVID-19 positive patients would be breach of privacy amounted to surveillance and it is not at all necessary for tracing the location of COVID-19 positive patients as contended by the police in a press release issued as rejoinder to the wide spread public protest emanated against Ext.P1 circular. It is also contended that as per Ext.P1, CDR collection had been started by the police and the nature of the use of tens of thousands of COVID- 19 positive patients CDR are kept in dark. According to the petitioner, the second respondent has no right to collect CDRs of COVID-19 positive patients in such an arbitrary manner which would amount to an intrusion to their privacy and it is illegal and void ab initio. It is also submitted that at present COVID-19 positive patients whose CDRs have been ordered to be collected by police on the strength of Ext.P1 circular, are not in a position to have resort to any legal remedies of their own for the injuries suffered by them on account of the illegal acts of the first respondent. Hence, the petitioner has filed this writ petition with the following prayers:

(3.) Mr. K.K. Ravindranath, learned Additional Advocate General, submitted that CDR details contains the mobile tower location and the contacts of the COVID-19 patients. Segregating tower location alone is not possible. CDR details are collected only for a limited purpose of locating COVID-19 patients and their contacts. They are kept only by the police and destroyed after 14 days.