Deleting phone messages: Nowadays, during the investigation of a crime, the mobile phones of the accused are often examined. Police and investigating agencies scrutinize call logs and messages to find any links. But if the accused deliberately deletes his messages and calls, will it be considered a crime? This question has been answered recently by the Indian Supreme Court through an important judgment.
Supreme Court judgment
The Supreme Court has clarified that deleting messages or calls from the phone is not a crime in any form. A bench of Justices B.R. and K.V. Vishwanathan said in this judgment that nowadays people rapidly replace their old phones with new phones, due to which old messages get deleted. The court also held that mobile phones are seen as personal property and due to their privacy, users have the right to delete their messages and data. Additionally, users feel the need to delete old data due to storage problems on their phones.
Expert opinion
According to mobile experts, deleting unnecessary messages, photos, and videos from time to time is important to maintain the speed of the phone. Especially for those smartphones that have less RAM and storage, deleting old data improves the functionality of the phone.
Rules related to mobile phones
India lacks specific rules regarding mobile phones, but recently new rules have been added by amending the IT Act. However, these rules are mainly for social media and the use of mobile phones is regulated according to the sections of the Indian Constitution.
Provision of jail and fine
According to Indian law, if you call or message someone to threaten them, then there can be a provision of fine and jail sentence for this. Apart from this, legal action is taken in case of violating someone’s privacy or sharing the identity of a rape victim on social media or mobile phone.
Conclusion
This Supreme Court judgment makes it clear that deleting messages and calls from the phone is not a crime, and it is a part of the user’s privacy. However, it is important to note that for any kind of illegal activities, such as bullying or violation of privacy, punishment has been provided under Indian law. Thus, despite the freedom to delete phone messages, any kind of criminal activity is strictly monitored by the law and the justice system.