The petitioner, advocate Gopal Bansal, argues that such access could lead to the misuse of this data for malicious purposes, endangering the safety and privacy of individuals. He has requested the court’s intervention to regulate or limit the dissemination of such sensitive information, calling for stricter enforcement of privacy protections and data security laws.
NEW DELHI: A petition filed in the Delhi High Court expressing concerns over mobile applications that share personal and sensitive vehicle owner details with third parties. The plea points out that these apps provide easy access to information such as the owner’s name, address, and vehicle data, raising significant privacy and security risks.
The petitioner, advocate Gopal Bansal, argues that such access could lead to the misuse of this data for malicious purposes, endangering the safety and privacy of individuals. He has requested the court’s intervention to regulate or limit the dissemination of such sensitive information, calling for stricter enforcement of privacy protections and data security laws.
The petition also alleges that these apps share sensitive insurance and financial details of vehicles, which could be exploited to obtain further personal and financial information about the owners. The petitioner emphasizes that such data, when combined, could potentially expose critical banking information, creating serious privacy and security threats.
Moreover, the plea highlights an incident during the Delhi communal riots where miscreants reportedly used mobile apps to access vehicle owner information to identify individuals’ religions, leading to the targeting and destruction of vehicles based on communal identities.
The petitioner claims that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways sold sensitive vehicle owner data under its now-discontinued “Bulk Data Sharing Policy & Procedure (BDS Policy)” to third-party entities, earning over Rs 111 crore. However, the Ministry has not asked these entities to delete the data previously sold, allowing its continued circulation and potential misuse.
Supporting his argument, the petitioner mentioned that he was able to obtain sensitive details about vehicles used by judges and senior advocates, further illustrating the risks.
Despite the scrapping of the BDS Policy, the Ministry introduced a new policy, the “NR Access Policy,” which still allows access to sensitive data of millions of vehicles and driving licenses for a nominal fee.
The plea raises concerns over the continued risk to citizens’ privacy, especially for high-ranking officials, and urges the court to take action to safeguard sensitive data.
The case was recently heard by a bench led by Acting Cheif Justice Manmohan, with the next hearing scheduled for October 15, 2024, after the Centre sought time to respond to the matter.
