New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred
hearing of Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata's plea on violation
of his right to privacy after the leakage of his telephonic
conversations with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia tapped by
the Income Tax Department.
A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi adjourned the
hearing on his plea seeking to restrain the online portals and
the news media from making his conversations public.
The court had on December 2 last issued notices to the
Centre and news magazines 'Open' and 'Outlook' which had
published some portions of the transcripts of Radia's
conversations with several people including Tata.
The bench had also issued notices to the Union Home
Secretary, CBI, the Income Tax Department and the Finance
Ministry.
Tata, in his petition, has said that several parts of the
conversations were purely private in nature which were spoken
casually and could not be taken seriously. He pleaded
the online portals and the news media should be restrained
from making his conversations public.
Tata has also sought action against those involved in
the leaking of the tapes, saying such an act amounts to
infringement of his fundamental right to life, which includes
his right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 18:35