Sexual assault case: Kerala HC stays order directing MLA to provide mobile phone passcodes to police

Kochi: High court on Wednesday stayed for three weeks, the Thiruvalla judicial first-class magistrate court's order directing MLA Rahul Mamkootathil to provide the passcodes of his mobile phones seized by the investigating officer for forensic examination in connection with a sexual assault case against him.Justice C Jayachandran issued the order in a petition filed by Mamkootathil seeking to quash the order of the magistrate court, contending that the court below had issued the direction without properly considering the constitutional objections raised by him. After arresting Mamkootathil in connection with the case, police had seized two of his personal mobile phones and sent them to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for forensic examination. However, the data could not be accessed as the phones were protected by passcodes. Subsequently, the investigating officer approached the JFCM court seeking a direction to Mamkootathil to provide the passcodes.The magistrate court allowed the request, prompting Mamkootathil to move HC. According to Mamkootathil, compelling an accused to provide the passcodes of his mobile phones violates Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India, which protects an accused from being compelled to be a witness against himself, and Article 21, which guarantees the fundamental right to privacy. He further contended that the mobile phones contain extensive personal and private data unrelated to the alleged offence.During hearing, HC referred to a recent decision of the Supreme Court in Vinay Kumar Gupta vs State of Madhya Pradesh concerning the surrender of a mobile phone by an accused to the investigating officer. In that case, the SC had held that a direction to cooperate with an investigation cannot be construed as imposing a duty on the accused to provide his mobile phone, and that extending the scope of cooperation in such a manner would impinge upon the constitutional guarantees available to the accused under Article 20(3).Accordingly, HC stayed the magistrate court's order and adjourned the petition to April 8.