Elgar Parishad case: Accused activist claims NIA intercepted emails without proper authorisation

Arun Ferreira. Illustration/Uday Mohite

Activist Arun Ferreira, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, told a special court here on Friday that the electronic evidence (emails), relied on by the prosecution as evidence in the case, was obtained without "proper authorisation".

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), however, contended that the emails were not intercepted, but were downloaded during the investigation by following due procedure.

Ferreira told the special NIA court that he had filed an application two months ago seeking direction from the prosecution for producing order from competent authority for carrying out such interception.

The activist is currently in judicial custody following his arrest in the case.

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Ferreira, in his application, had claimed that the electronic (email) conversations between Rona Wilson and one of the wanted accused were intercepted by the probe agency (Pune police) on multiple occasions in 2018.

The material derived from it is being presented as evidence by the prosecution, he stated.

As per a provision of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), such material shall not be received in evidence or otherwise disclosed in any trial, hearing or proceedings in court, unless the accused have been furnished with the copy of a competent authority, the activist had said.

However, the prosecution (NIA), in its reply, contended that during the course of the investigation, electronic devices seized from Wilson were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination. The data of the electronic devices of Wilson received from the FSL Pune were analysed.

The concerned investigating officer conducted a further probe in the presence of two independent witnesses with the help of cyber experts and downloaded the communication of the email following due procedure, the probe agency said.

As no interception was carried out at any point of time, the question of obtaining order from a competent authority does not arise, it argued.

The case, which is now being handled by the NIA, pertains to the 'Elgar Parishad' conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to the Pune police was funded by the Maoists. The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, the police had alleged.

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