homelegal NewsData protection bill shouldn't be accepted in current form, says Justice BN Srikrishna
Data protection bill shouldn't be accepted in current form, says Justice BN Srikrishna
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019.
Justice BN Srikrishna, who headed the committee that brought out a report in 2018 on what the data protection law should look like, said he has sent his feedback to the government on its ‘Data Protection Bill’ saying it should not be accepted in the current form.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the ITechLaw event in Bengaluru on Thursday, Justice Srikrishna said he was not asked by the government for his recommendations.
“I saw the public notice(by the Joint Parliamentary Commitee called for public feedback) and in response to that I have sent my comments and have also sent a clause by clause comparison between the original bill and the new bill and why it should not be accepted in the current form,” he said.
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019. The Bill seeks to provide for protection of personal data of individuals, and establishes a Data Protection Authority for the same. This bill is meant to ensure that citizens have control of their personal data.
The former Supreme Court judge strongly assailed the government on its Data Protection Bill, saying that it would make the Data Protection Authority a stooge and would turn the country into an Orwellian state.
Speaking at the ITechLaw conference Justice Srikrishna criticised the government’s decision to exempt any of its agencies from the provisions of the Bill.
According to a PRS India report, the central government can exempt any of its agencies from the provisions of the data protection act in interest of security of state, public order, sovereignty and integrity of India and friendly relations with foreign states.
Processing of personal data is also exempted from provisions of the Bill for certain other purposes such as prevention, investigation, or prosecution of any offence, among others.
“Any Babu by a stroke of the pen can see the law doesn’t apply to his department and get access to all your data. In our report, we had hemmed the government’s powers under a parliamentary legislation," he added.
The former judge said the Data Protection Authority should be a constitutional body but added he doesn’t see it happening.
“The Data Protection Authority has to ensure balance between government and citizens, but if the authority feels obliged to the government, we can’t imagine what will happen” he said.
Companies will find it difficult to accept the inclusion of non-personal data into the Bill, he added.
First Published: Jan 30, 2020 12:34 PM IST
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