Pranab Mukherjee to decide whether CBDT to retain powers to tap phones

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P. Chidambaram will now have to take a final call on whether to let the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) retain its powers to intercept phone calls.

A committee of secretaries (CoS) headed by cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar had recommended that the CBDT's name be struck off the list of agencies that could request for tapping of phones. The CoS felt that since there were no criminal liabilities or national security issues relating to tax evasion cases, the CBDT should not have the powers to tap phones.

The move follows the controversy over the leakage of tapped phone conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, which made their way into the print media. Radia's phones were tapped between 2008 and 2009 following complaints from a former employee who had alleged her business dealings had security ramifications.

Tata had sought a probe into the leakage of the tapped phone conversation and an embarrassed government had promised the Supreme Court that it would tighten phone-tapping norms.

A 15-member inter-ministerial group has also been set up to recommend steps for effective monitoring of telephone tapping and to prevent the leakage of the conversation. The government also wants to set up standard procedures for intercepting calls and to destroy the records to prevent the violation of an individual's right to privacy.

The CoS had, however, recommended that two investigative agencies under the finance ministry – the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) and the enforcement directorate (ED) – continue to remain on the list of organisations authorised to tap phones. The two agencies conduct investigations into tax violations as well as security-related issues including terror financing and funding of organised crime syndicates.