The
Supreme Court on Monday said there cannot be a bail condition which allows the
police to peep into the private life of an accused in a criminal case.
A
bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside a bail condition
imposed by the Delhi High Court requiring a Nigerian national to share the
Google Maps pin in his mobile device with the investigating officer in a drugs
case.
Justice
Oka, pronouncing the verdict said, "There cannot be a bail condition
defeating the very objective of bail itself. We have said Google pin cannot be
a bail condition. There can't be a bail condition enabling the police to
constantly track the movement of the accused. Police cannot be allowed to peep
into the private life of the accused on bail."
The court pronounced the verdict on a plea of Frank Vitus, a Nigerian national
challenging the bail condition in a drugs case.
On April 29, the top court had reserved its verdict
said it would examine whether one of the conditions imposed by the Delhi High
Court asking an accused to "drop a Google pin" from his mobile phone
to enable investigators to track his movement while on bail violated the
fundamental right to privacy.