Supreme Court has sent a notice to the tech giant requesting assistance in obtaining the "Google PIN" as a condition of bail
Supreme Court: A bench consisting of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan declared that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had submitted an affidavit stating that Google India Pvt. Ltd. should be contacted for information regarding Google PIN functionality.
Google India has been asked by the Supreme Court to clarify the technical aspects of PIN provisioning. The case before the Supreme Court involves a bail requirement that the defendant divulge his Google PIN to the authorities to track his whereabouts. In his appeal to the Supreme Court, the petitioner argues that this requirement violates his right to privacy.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has given an affidavit and suggested that as far as the functioning of Google PIN is concerned, it would be appropriate that the information be shared with Google India Pvt. Ltd. Should be asked from. The court ordered Google India Pvt. Ltd. to issue a notice asking to share the technical aspects of the movement tracker.
The bench made it clear that it is merely asking for assistance in gathering data about how Google PIN works, and is not naming the company as a respondent in the case. Advocate Varun Mishra represented the accused in this case, while senior advocate Vinay Navare served as an amicus curiae for the court.
The accused Nigerian citizen in the NDPS Act case was granted bail by the Supreme Court after it rejected two strict conditions imposed by the Delhi High Court. The High Court established two stringent requirements in May 2022. To guarantee that the case investigator is aware of the accused's whereabouts, he must first place a pin on Google Maps.
The second condition was that the High Commission of Nigeria would have to give an assurance on record that the accused would not leave the country and would appear before the trial court as and when required. The bench said that such stringent conditions cannot be imposed as no embassy would be able to fulfil such conditions. The petitioner is released on interim bail subject to the conditions imposed by the courts below, subject to furnishing of Google PIN and assurance from the High Commission of Nigeria, the court said.
