Today, most people have smartphones. When a crime occurs, investigators often check the suspect’s phone for evidence. Sometimes, messages, photos, or videos are deleted from the phone. Recently, the Supreme Court addressed whether deleting messages from a smartphone constitutes tampering with evidence. The court ruled that deleting messages from a smartphone is not considered a crime.
What Did the Court Say?
The Supreme Court acknowledged that people often upgrade from old to new smartphones. As a result, links, photos, messages, or videos from old phones may be deleted. Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Vishwanathan stated that smartphones are frequently updated, leading to the deletion of old messages. They also noted that smartphones are private devices, and privacy concerns may lead users to delete messages and other data.
Advice from Mobile Experts
Experts recommend regularly deleting unnecessary messages, photos, and videos from your phone. Too much data can slow down your phone. Therefore, clearing out old files can improve your phone’s performance.
New Regulations
Recently, the Indian government updated the IT Act to introduce new rules aimed at regulating social media. According to Indian law, actions related to mobile phones are addressed based on constitutional provisions.
Under the new rules, threatening someone via calls or messages can result in fines or jail time. Additionally, sharing the name or photo of a rape victim on social media or through mobile phones is a legal offense. Strict actions will be taken against individuals who engage in such activities.
