![PDP Bill should not exempt govt agencies from its provisions: Justice Srikrishna PDP Bill should not exempt govt agencies from its provisions: Justice Srikrishna](https://varindia.com/storage/news/uploads/2018/02/5df1e8220410d.jpg)
Justice BN Srikrishna has said that Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill should not exempt govt’s agencies from its provisions as it could turn India into an Orwellian state, where people of a state have less right over themselves and are controlled by draconian laws.
“They have removed the safeguards. The government can at any time access private data or government agency data on grounds of sovereignty or public order. This has dangerous implications,” quoted Justice Srikrishna, a retired judge of India’s Supreme Court.
In July 2017, the Srikrishna Committee was established to form a comprehensive report on data protection. In Nov 2017, a white paper was released, which suggested the need for a framework to help protect Indian citizens’ data. A panel chaired by Justice Srikrishna submitted its data protection report to the government in July 2018.
After the Union Cabinet approved the report last week, the new bill was shared with members of parliament on December 11. The new bill is now referred to a joint select committee of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, where it is facing strong protests from the Opposition.
The PDP bill, which is drafted to empower citizens with control over their personal data, is the first step towards privacy framework of personal data of users. The draft data protection report was prepared through an open process where they consulted stakeholders in the major information technology hubs – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in India.
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