New Delhi, August 21
Ratan Tata, who has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking protection of people’s right to privacy, today sought the setting up of an independent panel to examine the contents of the tapped telephonic conversations corporate lobbyist Niira Radia had with top politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.

Arguing before a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and KS Radhakrishnan, his senior counsel Harish Salve said that at present, intercepted calls were being reviewed by a committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary who could not be expected to devote sufficient time for such a role.

Tata witnessed today’s proceedings in the apex court for two hours from 11 am. In a statement, Tata Sons later said, “Ratan Tata has filed this writ petition on a matter of principle. He believes privacy is an important right for every individual and is keenly following the process of this case.”

Niira Radia

Salve blamed the government for its lackadaisical approach in finding out the source of the leakage of Radia tapes recorded at the instance of the Income Tax department. The department was trying to give itself a clean chit by blaming the CBI for the leakage, he said. “If this kind of information can be leaked, anything can be leaked,” he said.

Agreeing with Salve, the Bench said there was need for setting up several committees to examine the large number of phone interceptions taking place in the country.

Salve clarified that Tata had not filed the petition to restrain the media from publishing his personal conversations with Radia but to protect the rights of the citizens to privacy. There was need for maintaining a balance between freedom of press and right to privacy, he stated. Corporate entities which had stakes in various media houses should not be allowed to misuse such conversations to settle scores with one another, he went on to add.