Right To Privacy Not Absolute; Voice Samples Can Be Compelled For Probe: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the right to privacy, though fundamental, is not absolute and can yield to legitimate State interests during a criminal investigation.

Justice Neena Krishna Bansal directed meat exporter Moin Qureshi to provide voice samples to the CBI for comparison with intercepted telephone calls from 2013–14 in an ongoing corruption probe.

It held that voice samples do not amount to testimonial compulsion, as they are not communicative evidence but material meant solely for scientific comparison.

The Court observed that compelling voice samples is a reasonable investigative measure and does not infringe constitutional safeguards.