The President of India Droupadi Murmu assented Monday to the controversial Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which aims to reform the telecommunications sector in India.

The bill was passed by the lower house of India’s Parliament, the Lok Sabha, on December 20 through a voice vote amidst a record suspension of MPs from the opposition for protesting over a recent security breach in the Parliament. Subsequently, the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, also passed the bill by voice vote on December 21, clearing the path for it to receive the president’s assent and become law. A voice vote in the Indian Parliament is a decision-making method wherein members verbally express their support or opposition to a motion without a formal count.

The object of the bill is stated to be the revision and consolidation of laws pertaining to the development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and networks. It also covers the allocation of spectrum and addresses related or incidental matters. Furthermore, the bill is to substitute the colonial-era laws including the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 as well as the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.

The government has lauded the bill as a significant reform in the sector. However, critics have expressed concerns about privacy and freedom of expression, citing the bill’s potential to provide the government with extensive control over telecommunications. The bill allows the interception, monitoring or blocking of messages, subject to government-prescribed procedures. This includes the potential to monitor all communications based on specific words. Furthermore, the bill enables the government to assume temporary authority over telecommunications services for the sake of national security, which is apprehended to be misused.

Concerns arise about the proportionality of compromising the privacy of all users for investigative purposes, as emphasized by the Supreme Court in the landmark Puttaswamy v Union of India judgement. In that case, the Supreme Court held the right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. 

The Ministry of Law and Justice of the Government of India formally published a notification on Tuesday in the Gazette of India, enacting the Telecommunication Bill as an act and subsequently enforcing it as law.