India engages U.S.- interpol to investigate surge in airline bomb hoax threats
New Delhi: In response to over 400 recent bomb threat hoaxes targeting domestic and international flights in India, the Indian government has sought investigative support from the U.S. and Interpol to trace the origins of the calls. New Delhi is reportedly pursuing potential links to pro-Khalistani groups based in the U.S., especially following a recent broadcast by Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who called for a boycott of Air India from November 1-19, aiming to “economically destroy India.”
Sources indicate that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has already begun collaborating with Indian authorities, working to trace calls and emails sent to airlines via social media platforms. Between October 13 and October 28 alone, over 410 flights operated by Indian carriers received bomb threats, with Air India being a primary target. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Delhi confirmed the cooperative effort, stating that American law enforcement is assisting in tracking threats affecting U.S. citizens on Indian flights.
In addition to support from the U.S., Indian officials have reached out to Interpol for assistance in obtaining information from Germany and the U.K., where VPN servers connected to the hoax calls are reportedly located. Indian investigators hope to gather data on these virtual networks to advance their probe.
The FBI’s cooperation comes during a sensitive period in India-U.S. relations, following a recent trial involving an Indian official and a businessman accused of an assassination plot against Pannun. India has strongly denied these allegations and appointed a high-level inquiry led by Deputy National Security Adviser Pankaj Singh, who recently traveled to the U.S. for discussions.
Wanted by India since 2020, Pannun has faced multiple charges under India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, including promoting secessionism and inciting communal enmity. Despite his frequent social media broadcasts targeting Indian government agencies and leaders, U.S. authorities have not detained Pannun, citing free speech protections and insufficient evidence linking his statements to terror operations.
In his latest broadcast, Pannun urged followers to disrupt schools managed by the Central Reserve Police Force and Kendriya Vidyalayas in Delhi and Punjab, allegedly targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
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Madras HC rules spousal privacy as a fundamental right, disallows evidence obtained through snooping
Chennai: In a landmark judgment, the Madras High Court emphasized the protection of spousal privacy as a fundamental right, ruling that evidence obtained by one spouse snooping on the other is inadmissible in court. This ruling came as Justice G.R. Swaminathan overturned a lower court's decision that had allowed a husband to submit his wife's call records in a marital dispute case.
The court made it clear that privacy, as a constitutionally guaranteed right, includes the privacy of married individuals from each other, rejecting the notion that marital misconduct permits invasion of personal privacy. "Law cannot proceed on the premise that marital misconduct is the norm. Privacy as a fundamental right includes spousal privacy, and evidence obtained by invading this right is inadmissible," stated the court.
The case originated in Paramakudi Subordinate Court, where the husband submitted the wife's call data as evidence to support claims of adultery, cruelty, and desertion. He had obtained these records without her consent, an act the High Court deemed a violation of privacy. Additionally, the call records were not accompanied by a certificate under Section 65B(4) of the Indian Evidence Act, making them procedurally inadmissible.
Justice Swaminathan noted that allowing such evidence would open doors to spouses spying on each other, damaging the foundational trust in marital relationships. “Trust forms the bedrock of matrimonial relationships. The spouses must have implicit and total faith in each other. Snooping destroys the fabric of marital life,” he stated.
The High Court further advised that allegations of misconduct could be pursued through authorized methods, such as interrogatories or affidavits, cautioning that the court must not assume marital misconduct as a norm justifying privacy breaches.
