Probe officers can face action if private data is leaked: Karnataka High Court

The High Court of Karnataka has declared that action for dereliction of duty or other proceedings can be initiated against investigation officers (IOs) if they are found to have furnished to any third party, data retrieved from electronic gadgets that could impinge on privacy of any person connected to the probe in criminal cases. The court also declared that it is the responsibility of the officers to safeguard the information or data retrieved from electronic gadgets such as smartphones, computers, laptops and storage units, including cloud-based storage, email accounts, etc.