Delhi High Court Protects Privacy Rights in Landmark Bail Ruling
The Delhi High Court has delivered a significant judgment protecting the privacy rights of accused persons, ruling that bail conditions requiring 24x7 location sharing with investigating agencies are unsustainable and unconstitutional.
Justice Vikas Mahajan, while hearing a petition challenging such conditions imposed by a sessions court in Delhi, ordered the deletion of the requirement for the accused to continuously share his live location with the investigating officer through Google.
Legal Challenge Based on Supreme Court Precedent
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing the petitioner, strongly argued against the invasive bail condition by referencing the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in Frank Vitus v. Narcotics Control Bureau. The senior counsel emphasized that such continuous monitoring violates the fundamental right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court in its July 8, 2024 ruling had clearly established that investigating agencies cannot be permitted to continuously monitor the private lives of individuals granted bail through arbitrary conditions. The top court bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan had specifically prohibited courts from imposing location sharing requirements through Google Maps.
Court's Reasoning and Final Order
Justice Mahajan completely agreed with Pahwa's submissions, noting that the sessions court had overstepped its authority by imposing such conditions while granting bail. The court explicitly stated that "the condition as noted above could not have been imposed by the learned additional judge while granting bail to the petitioner."
In its final order, the High Court declared: "The condition to the effect that the petitioner should also share his location 24 x 7 with the IO through Google is not sustainable and the same is accordingly deleted."
Background of the Frank Vitus Case
The legal precedent cited in this case originates from the bail conditions imposed on Nigerian national Frank Vitus in a drug smuggling case. On May 31, 2022, the Delhi High Court had granted bail to Vitus and co-accused Ebera Nwanaforo subject to the condition that they "shall drop a PIN on the Google map to ensure that their location is available to the Investigation Officer of the case."
The Supreme Court later struck down this condition, holding that "any bail condition which enables the Police/ Investigation Agency to track every movement of the accused by using any technology or otherwise would undoubtedly violate the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21."
Legal Experts Welcome the Judgment
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, who argued the case, welcomed the High Court's verdict as timely and significant. He revealed that his client, engaged in the real estate business, had failed to deliver a project on time but had already deposited a substantial amount before the Trial Court and was granted bail with several stringent conditions.
Pahwa emphasized that the High Court "rightly held that such a direction amounts to continuous surveillance and violates the fundamental right to privacy under Article 21." He further stated that "bail cannot be transformed into a mechanism for round-the-clock tracking of an individual" and that conditions must be reasonable and proportionate.
The legal expert concluded that this judgment reaffirms that constitutional rights cannot be compromised in the name of supervision, and even accused persons are entitled to dignity, privacy, and freedom from arbitrary monitoring.
