Supreme Court draws Lakshman Rekha, ED will not be able to copy laptop and mobile data seized in raid
The Supreme Court has barred the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from copying data from electronic devices including laptops and mobile phones seized during the search of lottery king Santiago Martin, his relatives, and employees in November. Future Gaming's lawyers argued that obtaining data from seized electronic devices is a violation of privacy and fundamental rights.
The Supreme Court has barred the ED from accessing and copying data from electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones seized during the raid against Santiago Martin, popularly known as lottery king, his relatives, and employees.
The apex court had passed this order on the petition of the companies, Future Gaming and Hotels Services Private Limited and its promoter Martin on December 13. It may force the investigating agencies to think twice before deciding on seizing the mobile phone or laptop of the accused. This order can be useful for the persons accused in such cases, too.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mittal said, "Notice is issued. In the meanwhile, interim relief is granted as prayed for keeping in view the application." Counsel for Future Gaming had argued that extracting data from electronic devices seized was a breach of privacy and fundamental rights.
They said that these devices contain extremely personal and commercially important data, which include financial information, medical records, passwords, and strategic documents. Santiago Martin shot to national headlines when reports surfaced that his company Future Gaming had given the highest amount of Rs 1,368 crore as a donation to political parties through electoral bonds.
The bench issued notices to the Center, ED, and its officials on the petition and fixed the date of hearing on February 17, 2025, along with other pending cases. Other cases include the case of Amazon India employees and Newsclick, where the petitioners have sought directions for the seizure of digital devices by investigating agencies.
ED sources said that they have seen the order and apart from digital records, they also have other credible evidence available in the case. Raids were conducted at 22 places in six states last November after a complaint by the Meghalaya Police. Meghalaya Police had accused Future Gaming of illegally monopolizing the lottery business in the state. Cash worth Rs 12.41 crore was also recovered during this raid.
