SC Examines If Police Can Ask Live Location Of Accused On Bail, Seeks Google's Assistance

The apex court clarified that Google is not being made a respondent in the case. The notice is issued by the court to seek clarity so it can examine the larger question of "right to privacy".

The top court is examining the issue of whether a condition to share live location in a bail order infringes the right to privacy. 

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The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to tech giant Google and asked for its assistance to understand the technical aspects of sharing a PIN in the context of granting bail on condition of sharing live location. The top court is examining the issue of whether a condition to share live location in a bail order infringes the right to privacy. 

However, the apex court clarified that Google is not being made a respondent in the case. The notice is issued by the court to seek clarity so it can examine the larger question of "right to privacy".

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India had submitted in the cort that as far as the working of Google PIN is concerned, it will be appropriate to seek information from Google.

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the case and directed that Google to file an affidavit along with the necessary documents explaining the working of Google PIN in the context of putting a condition in the order granting bail. The issue is whether such a condition infringes the right to privacy.

The top court is also examining whether a bail condition that the accused must share the Google Pin location with the investigating officer be imposed. The top court will further answer if bail to a foreigner can be conditional on obtaining an assurance from the concerned Embassy that the accused will not leave India.