NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stated that an accused individual cannot be forced to reveal the passwords of their digital devices and online accounts during an ongoing trial. This is in accordance with the protection provided under Article 20(3) (right against self-incrimination) of the Constitution.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee remarked that the investigating agency ‘cannot operate in a manner that only serves their interests,’ especially when the accused is fully protected under the legal provision. The judge made this observation while granting bail to a defendant in an alleged scam case.
He noted that since the trial is currently in progress, the investigating agency cannot compel the accused to disclose passwords and other sensitive information. In this case, Sanket Bhadresh Modi, the Director of E-Sampark Softech, was accused of orchestrating millions of scam phone calls to the United States from fraudulent call centres in India, allegedly defrauding US citizens of approximately $20 million.
Furthermore, the High Court emphasised that although the applicant is named as an accused in the First Information Report (FIR), until the final resolution of the case, the applicant’s status remains that of a suspect only.