The Malappuram police have filed a case against former MLA and Kerala Trinamool Congress leader PV Anvar on the charges of illegal phone tapping, based on a complaint lodged by Kollam-based businessman and planter Murugesh Narendran.
The action follows a June 26 directive by the Kerala High Court to the State Police Chief to take action on Narendran's complaint within one month. Narendran had complained that Anvar had illegally tapped his phone. As per the order of the court, Narendran went to the Malappuram police station on Monday and gave a detailed statement. A case was registered. The offence involves Sections 66, 66B, and 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and Section 42(2)(b) of the Telecommunication Act, 2023.
At a press conference conducted at the Malappuram Guest House on September 1, 2024, Anvar had freely admitted to having tapped the phones of many people, including top police officials. He also asserted having incurred huge expenses to collect evidence. Citing this admission, Narendran alleged that Anvar must have tapped his phone also and requested a thorough investigation. He approached the High Court since the police did not take action on his initial report.
Earlier, a report was filed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Malappuram, mentioning that the said offence was non-cognisable as the complainant failed to give enough evidence on grounds on which a case was not registered.
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Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, on the other hand, condemned this logic and said that Anvar seemed to be working like a parallel police force. The court noted that illegal phone tapping was a serious breach of the right to privacy that is fundamental and deserves legal recourse. It also reminded that the onus to gather evidence rested with the investigating officer, not the complainant.
The court also emphasised that law is applicable to everyone, even to MLAs, and condemned the police for trying to protect Anvar from investigation.
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