The Supreme Court on August 5 highlighted the concern expressed by the academia about the seizure of mobile phones and computers of the academia as "electronic evidence" by investigating agencies during raids, saying they have a right to protect their work and research embedded in these personal digital devices.
"They [academicians] have a right to protect [their work]… today people live on this [personal devices]," a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M. M. Sundresh observed orally.
The court said it was not satisfied by the affidavit filed by the Centre, which the latter portrayed as its "raw thinking" on the issue. The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its affidavit said that while laptops, computers and mobiles are commonly used in contemporary society, criminals also "use these devices in the facilitation of their unlawful activities".
