You will often hear news of people phone tapping on the news channel. Often the phones of politicians, big people and sometimes film stars are also tapped. Have you ever wondered how they get tapped or who taps them?
But first do you know what phone tapping is? When a third person listens to a telephone conversation between two people without their knowledge, it is called phone tapping. This is a violation of anyone's privacy. This is therefore considered illegal. It is therefore allowed to tap the phone only in certain special cases and for some time only.
According to media reports, only 10 agencies/People in India have phone tapping authority from the government.
1. CBI
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is a anti corruption body in the country. It looks the matters related to crime and it is also the Interpol agency in India. It functions under the superintendence of the Deptt. of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India - which falls under the prime minister’s office. Cases Handle by CBI are Anti-Corruption crimes, special crimes(such as cases of terrorism, bomb blasts, kidnapping for ransom and crimes committed by the mafia/the underworld), Suo Moto cases. The CBI has to seek the approval of the Union Home Secretary before tracking a phone call.
2. Enforcement Directorate(ED)
The Directorate General of Economic Enforcement is a special financial investigation agency under the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, headquartered in New Delhi. The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts of the Government of India namely, FEMA & PMLA
Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA) - A Civil Law, with officers empowered to conduct investigations into suspected contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Laws and Regulations, adjudicate, contraventions, and impose penalties on those adjudged to have contravened the law.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) - A Criminal Law, with the officers empowered to conduct investigations to trace assets derived out of the proceeds of crime, to provisionally attach/ confiscate the same, and to arrest and prosecute the offenders found to be involved in Money Laundering.
3. Intelligence Bureau(IB)
The Intelligence Bureau (IB), considered the oldest surviving intelligence organization in the world, serves as India’s internal security agency responsible for mitigating domestic threats. IB technically falls under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs. National Intelligence Bureau operate independently and playing an important role in the service of our country and makes a Corruption and Crime care free society. Although the exact functions of the agency remain unidentified, it is known that the agency is responsible for counterterrorism, counterintelligence, intelligence collection in border areas, infrastructure protection, and anti-secession activities. It is reputed to be the oldest such organization in the world.
4. National Investigation Agency(NIA)
NIA is a central agency established by the Government of India to combat terror in India. The NIA was formed under the NIA Act, 2008. It was established as a central agency to counter terrorism after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The agency has 649 employees and this agency comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. NIA acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. The agency is authorized to investigate any terrorism related case across the country without the special permission of the states. The NIA aims to set the standards of excellence in counter terrorism and other national security related investigations at the national level by developing into a highly trained, partnership oriented workforce.
5. Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT)
The Central Board of Direct Taxes is functioning as a statutory authority under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. In their ex-officio capacity, the officers also function as divisions of the Ministry dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes. It is India’s official financial action task force unit. The Central Board of Direct Taxes deals with matters related to levying and collecting Direct Taxes and formulation of various policies related to direct taxes. It is administered by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
6. Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB)
The Narcotics Control Bureau is an Indian federal law enforcement and intelligence agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The agency is tasked with combating drug trafficking and the use of illegal substances under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. It also functions as an enforcement agency through its zones and sun-zones. The zones and sub-zones collect and analyse data related to seizures of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance, study trends, modus operandi, collect and disseminate intelligence and work in close cooperation with the Customs, State Police and other law enforcement agencies.
7. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence(DRI)
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was constituted on 4 December 1957 and exercises all the powers specified in Section 100, 101, 103, 104, 106, 107 and 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. DRI has established an intelligence gathering network which relies on traditional human intelligence resources as well as contemporary technical gathering tools. DRI collects, analysis and disseminates intelligence to the field formations, help in investigation and keeps statistics of seizures and prices/rates etc, for watching trends of smuggling, movement of other contraband and suggest remedies for fixing loopholes in existing laws and procedures. Moreover, it also works to prevent the proliferation of black money, trade based money laundering and commercial frauds.
8. Defence Intelligence Agency(DIA)
The Defence Intelligence Agency (D.I.A) is an organisation responsible for providing and coordinating military intelligence for the Indian armed forces. It was created in March 2002 and is administered within the Ministry of Defence. The agency's primary task it to track troop movement in countries neighbouring India. The DIA is involved in intelligence support groups with the IB and RAW to coordinate military and civilian intelligence agencies and create an intelligence community. DIA has control of Indian Army intelligence assets – the Directorate of Signals Intelligence and the Defence Image Processing and Analysis Centre (DIPAC). Together with RAW, NTRO, IB, DRI and NIA the DIA forms a part of India's nodal part of India's nodal intelligence setup.
9. Delhi Police Commissioner
The Commissioner of Police, Delhi or Delhi Police Commissioner is the head of the Delhi Police, the Law enforcement agency of the 15 police districts (as of January 2019) of National Capital of India, Delhi. The present Commissioner of Delhi Police is Sachidanand Shrivastava. Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. But only Delhi Police Commissioer have rights for phone tapping in india.
10. Research and Analysis Wing(RAW)
The Research and Analysis Wing or RAW is an international intelligence agency of India headquartered in Delhi. This institution was formed in the year 1968. The 'Bureau of Investigation' did not function well in the Indo-China war of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, due to which the Indian government felt the need for such an institution, Who can collect external information in an independent and efficient manner. The main functions of RAW are to gather information, prevent terrorism and carry out covert operations. Along with this, it works on the information received from foreign governments, companies and humans so that Indian policy makers can be advised.
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