New twist in 'snoopgate' row, woman approaches apex court

In a twist to the "snoopgate" episode, the woman reportedly tailed by the Gujarat police allegedly at the behest of Amit Shah, aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court with father for restraining the Centre and state government from going ahead with their commissions of inquiry.

A Bench said it could not pass an interim order for staying proceedings without hearing the parties. The Bench issued notices to the Centre and the state government for their replies for a hearing on Friday. The plea has sought protection of their fundamental right to privacy and right to live with dignity.

The court requested the media not to name the woman.

A controversy had erupted last year when two news portals released CDs of purported telephonic conversations between Shah, then state home minister, and two top state police officials relating to snooping on a woman architect in 2009. The conversations, purportedly between August and September 2009, do not mention Modi but refer to a 'sahib', which the portals said was the chief minister on whose order the snooping was done, denied by Shah.

While the state government formed an inquiry commission in November, the Union Cabinet decided to follow. But a controversy erupted last week when senior ministers announced the name of the judge to head the commission would be announced. On Monday, the Centre beat a retreat after two allies of the Congress objected to such a move in the "dying days" of UPA II.

The petition has sought a direction for restraining the media from publishing and airing news about the controversy that arose after news portals Cobra Post and Gulail.com released the CDs.

Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the two, filed that despite no complaint filed by them their rights were invaded by various persons for extraneous reasons. "I was satisfied with the safety measures taken by the state government when my life was under threat and when I am not complaining what happened in 2009, there is a sinister campaign to target my reputation and of my family," Kumar filed on their behalf.

In the petition, they also took objection to the raking up of the snooping controversy by suspended Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service officer Pradeep Sharma seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe based on the unverified and unauthenticated contents brought by the web portals.

They expressed surprise the state government and Centre went ahead with their decisions to set up commissions of inquiry even after knowing the woman, now married, had approached the National Commission for Women and Gujarat State Commission for Women. In view of the development before the two women's commissions, they sought direction to the Centre not to proceed with the formation of the commission or a body of like nature.