SC Junks PIL Seeking to Make Agencies IB, RAW, NTRO Accountable

The Supreme Court said, “trying to get into the domain of intelligence may create a dent in national security.”

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a PIL seeking to make intelligence agencies IB, RAW and NTRO accountable to Parliament. The apex court said that trying to get into the domain of intelligence may create a dent in national security.

“We are not inclined to entertain this petition...Trying to get into the domain of intelligence may create dent in national security,” a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh said, while rejecting the PIL filed by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).

We do not think the court should entertain such kinds of petition which deal with security of the country.

The bench

The apex court had in 2013 issued notice to the Centre asking to respond on the PIL seeking to bring the agencies under the oversight of Parliament and CAG.

The NGO’s petition had sought directions from the court for parliamentary oversight and financial auditing of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) by CAG like in western countries.

The NGO had submitted that the agencies were being misused for political purposes and there was an urgent need to make these organisations accountable to Parliament.

On 1 February 2013, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, had submitted that India is the only democracy in the world whose intelligence agencies have no legitimacy in the eyes of the law and are not accountable to the people or Parliament.

The bench had said it is a policy matter to be decided by the Centre but had agreed to hear the plea after the petitioner contended that earlier also the court had passed directions on policy matters.

“Former heads of these organisations have published books on how the money is misused and and how the agencies are misused for political purposes,” the petition had said, adding accounting is required as “more than Rs 10,000 crore is granted to these agencies out of the consolidated fund of India”.