ABSTRACT
The rapid advancement of technology has transformed the criminal investigation to revolutionized in positioning to forensic data which is collected from the devices like laptops, mobile phones, cloud storage, etc. this extraction of digital data raises profound constitutional dilemmas in Inda particularly came after the recognition of privacy as a fundamental right in Justice K.S Puttuswamy v Union of India. This paper examines the constitutional tension between the investigation imperatives and the privacy rights of the accused and also explore how the Indian law has reconciled with this competing interest, in which the forensic extraction encompasses with call logs, deleted files, and metadatawhich can lead to broad extraction of datas. The statutory frameworks governing the digital searches like Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Information Technology Act, 2000 both governed the police authority and the powers initiated to the Information Technology act has empowers search and seizure the material objects which is relevant to the investigation, including the electronic devices. So here the law has not provided any detailed safeguards specific for this digital data extraction so the absence of it can cause overboard searches which can specifically lack for digital proportionality, risking arbitrariness. The constitutional concerns related to the data extraction includes the information privacy, which is protected across Article 14,19, and 21, also article 20(3) for self-incrimination and compelled disclosure. Recent laws like Digital Personal Data Protection Act mainly regulate how the companies are handling the personal data but they do not clearly address how the personal data should be handled during the criminal investigations. This paper therefore studies about, how the human rights and the constitutional values must be centered in the digital age, ensuring the security measures that do not undermine the personal freedom.
Keywords: Digital Forensic Evidence, Right to Privacy, Constitutional Law, Criminal Investigation, Data Extraction.
INTRODUCTION
The rapid advancement of the technology has transformed the criminal investigation to revolutionized in positioning to forensic data which is collected from the devices like laptops, mobile phones, cloud storage and encrypted communication platforms which has become an integral part of the modern life. Such data covers a large volume of personal information which includes private conversation, photographs, financial records, medical details and also the location histories. As per all these segments all the law enforcements have been recently increased upon relying on the forensic data extraction from the digital devices which they gathered as evidence during the process of criminal investigations. However, this extraction of digital data raises profound constitutional dilemmas in Inda in which particularly came after the recognition of privacy as a fundamental right in Justice K.S Puttuswamy v Union of India (2017) which even altered the landscape in India. The Supreme Court held that the right to privacy is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution[1].
Therefore, the recognition made in this case has made a controversy whether the forensic extraction digital data from the accused person’s device can leads to the violation of the constitutional protections and the issue lies in balancing the state’s interest in effective criminal investigation with the individual’s right to privacy.
[1]Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1.