Punishment for recording somebody's call without permission

709 votes

In the recent case of Sanjay Pandey v. Directorate of Enforcement (2023) the Delhi High Court had said that tapping or recording phone calls without consent is a violation of privacy. The Constitution's Article 21 guarantees the right to privacy, which means phone calls should not be recorded unless the individuals involved give their consent. Failing to do so would breach their fundamental right to privacy.

Besides that, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 prescribes punishment for call recording in India. Under this Act, tampering or intercepting any message or divulging the contents or any part of the contents of any message without authorization is recognised as an offence.
If a person damages, tampers with or touches any battery, machinery, telegraph line, post, or any other thing whatever, being part of or used in or about any telegraph, intending to prevent or obstruct the transmission or delivery of any message or to commit mischief, they may face imprisonment for up to three years, or a fine, or both, under Section 25 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. Similarly, any telegraph officer or other official making away with or altering, or unlawfully intercepting or disclosing messages, or divulging the purport of signals may also face imprisonment for up to three years, or a fine, or both, under Section 26 of the Act.

Advocate Sudershani Ray LawRato

561 votes

Dear friend,
Phone tapping without your / courts permission violates your fundamental rights. Unauthorised tapping is punishable under the telegraph act. Yes of course u can sue them for damages as well. If you have a doubt regarding the tapping, file an fir . Detailed investigation can help you further.

Advocate K. Sudhinkumar LawRato

833 votes

Your right to privacy is been violated.you move through a writ petition filed in the concerned high court. The matter depends on the material evidence you have to show that your right to privacy is being violated.

LawRato LawRato

836 votes

from the query it is not clear whether a third party or the party who calls you record the phone. If a third party is recording your phone it is an offence under Information technology act. you can defintley move for compensation in such cases.

Advocate Abdurahiman V P LawRato

312 votes

You can sue someone who records you without permission in a small claim court if you meet certain conditions. For a recording to be legally valid, it must comply with certain laws and circumstances. You may be able to prove that the caller did not inform you of the recording.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty LawRato