LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that extracting mobile phone data without the consent of the accused or the magistrate is illegal under Article 13 of the Constitution (double punishment and self-defense).
The decision came during the hearing of the case of Rehmatullah, who was sentenced to jail on charges of belonging to an extremist organization and spreading prohibited material with benefit of doubt.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Ali Baqir Najafi and Justice Amjad Rafiq acquitted the accused. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Anti-Terrorism Court.
The court said that extracting mobile data without consent is against the right to privacy. The court further said that if the accused is not willing, at least the permission of the magistrate should be taken to take the phone records.
“In this modern age, we communicate with our near and dear ones through audio and video. Our phones are no less than our homes, every relationship within the four walls of our home enjoys constitutional protection,” the court said.
It said that people read books, use Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, which is not prohibited by law. As long as a person wants to keep their information on the phone confidential, that information cannot be extracted without their permission or legal instructions. The court further said that if the required information gives a link to any crime, it can be brought to the notice of the court within 24 hours.
The allegation of distribution of the material by the prosecution is not proved by any evidence, the alleged material from the mobile phone was not placed before the accused during the statement of any witness, the court acquitted the accused.
