The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) which highlighted that there are several mobile applications on Google Play Store that allow users to access sensitive information related to any vehicle by only entering its registration number.

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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told the court that it has taken the allegations in the present petition “very seriously and is enquiring into the matter”. The Ministry sought for some time to file a detailed counter affidavit. “Let a counter affidavit be filed within eight weeks,” a bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said while posting the case for further hearing on February 19, next year.

The plea filed by advocate Gopal Bansal stated that the mobile Apps available on Google Play Store, can give “every sensitive information” related to any vehicle merely by entering its registration number.

‘Challan information being shared’

He said that Apps are also providing the vehicles’ challan related information. “By way of the said information, anyone can easily trace out the challans of the offending vehicle along with other sensitive details like photographs of the offending vehicle, alleged offence, name of violator, date, time and location of challan; longitude and latitude details of challaned place, amount of challan and disposal status,” the plea said.

It added, “the said details are enough to trace out the location of any vehicle owner on a particular date/ time encroaching upon their Right to Privacy and Right to Freedom of Movement”.

Mr. Bansal said that the information was being sold to third party entities by the Ministry under the erstwhile ‘Bulk Data Sharing Policy and Procedure Policy’, which was subsequently scrapped. He, however, stated that even under the new policy, ‘Policy for Providing Access to Information from National Register – A Centralized Database of DLs & RCs’, the data is being sold.

The plea has sought directions to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, to stop the operation of the mobile applications involved in breach of the data contained in the National Register. It also sought direction to the Ministry to set aside the new policy and also to the Ministry of Law and Justice to frame a proper legislation for protecting the National Register.