Plea filed in Delhi HC against mobile apps sharing vehicle owners' details

A plea has been filed in the Delhi High Court raising concerns about various mobile applications that provide personal and sensitive information of vehicle owners to third parties. The plea highlights that these apps grant easy access to private details, including the owner's name, address, and other vehicle-related data, which could lead to major privacy violations and potential security risks.

The petitioner, Gopal Bansal, a practising advocate, stated that such access could lead to the misuse of information for malicious purposes, compromising the safety and privacy of individuals. He seeks legal intervention to regulate or restrict the dissemination of personal information through these apps, calling for stricter enforcement of data protection laws and privacy safeguards.

In support of his claims, the petitioner stated that he was able to obtain sensitive information regarding vehicles reportedly used by judges of the court, including those used for the transportation of Hon'ble Judges. Furthermore, he procured information on vehicles registered in the personal capacities of some judges and certain senior advocates.

In addition, the apps in question were allegedly providing sensitive insurance and finance-related details of these vehicles, which could be used to gather further personal and financial information about the vehicle owners. The petitioner argues that such details, when triangulated, could potentially expose critical banking information and lead to serious privacy and security risks.

The petitioner further alleged that during the Delhi communal riots, miscreants reportedly used mobile apps to identify the religion of vehicle owners by accessing the sensitive personal information provided through these platforms. This data was allegedly used to target vehicles belonging to members of a particular community, with the miscreants setting vehicles of another community ablaze.

The petitioner claims that sensitive vehicle owner data was being sold by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to third-party entities under its "Bulk Data Sharing Policy & Procedure (BDS Policy)," which has now been scrapped. During a Parliament address, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways reportedly acknowledged that the Ministry earned more than INR 111 crores by providing access to databases containing Registration Certificates (RCs) and Driving Licences (DLs) to 108 private entities.

Although the BDS Policy has been discontinued, the Minister confirmed in Parliament that the Ministry will not ask private entities to delete the previously sold data. This implies that third-party entities can continue to circulate citizens' sensitive information, even though the policy has been scrapped, raising concerns over the continued misuse of the data, the plea stated.

Following the scrapping of the BDS Policy, the Ministry framed a new policy called the "Policy for Providing Access to Information from the National Register - A Centralised Database of DLs & RCs (NR Access Policy)." This policy allows third parties to access sensitive data of over 36 crore RCs and 15 crore DLs, again making it available for a nominal fee of INR 50 to INR 100.

The petitioner argued that this new policy is arbitrary and continues to put citizens' privacy at risk by providing easy access to highly sensitive data without adequate safeguards.

This plea highlights concerns over how the Ministry's policies have facilitated the monetization and circulation of sensitive data, potentially leading to privacy violations, misuse of data, and security risks for individuals.

The petition emphasises the alarming ease with which such personal and financial data can be accessed through mobile apps, posing a significant threat to the privacy and security of individuals, particularly high-ranking officials such as judges and senior advocates. The petitioner seeks urgent intervention to regulate the dissemination of such data to protect individuals from potential misuse.

The plea was recently listed and heard by a bench of the Delhi High Court led by Justice Manmohan and comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. However, after the counsel representing the Centre sought time to take instructions in the matter, the court decided to re-notify the hearing for October 15, 2024.