The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha has said that the unauthorised obtaining of telephone call records of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2013, when he was Leader Opposition, was not a breach of privilege.

The panel, accepting the unconditional apology of Delhi police, said strict action should be taken against erring police officers, adding that the issue of breach of right to privacy should be dealt with in a court.

The Committee, headed by Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, denied the speculation that the UPA government had been behind obtaining Jaityley’s call records.

The report, tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, said the issue does not seem to cause any hindrance or obstruction in the functioning of an MP so as to attract breach of his Parliamentary privileges. “However, there is definitely a breach of right to privacy in such matters and for that remedies are available under the laws of land,” it added.

The report said that Jaitley’s call records had been accessed thrice earlier on the pretext of investigations into the death of Chadda brothers, busting of fake Indian currency racket and in a murder case of South Delhi.

The fourth attempt, the report said, was unauthorised and was done by a “delinquent” Delhi police constable using the user name and password of a senior police official to get the call records of Jaitley at the instance of private detective Anurag Singh.

Motive of accused

The report added that the investigation into the matter so far could not establish the motive of the accused persons.

“At the same time, the Committee does not have reasons to disbelieve the then Home Minister, present and former Home Secretary and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi who had categorically denied the involvement of any government agency in the whole affair,” it added.

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