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2026 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 44504
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
L. Victoria Gowri, J
Barathkumaar – Appellant
Versus
State – Respondent
WP CRL.(MD). No.2336 of 2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Arul Jenifer
For the Respondents: M.Sakthi Kumar
State authorities are directed to consider representations for the retrieval of archived call detail records (CDR) in line with telecommunication licensing retention policies.
Headnote:The petitioner filed a writ petition seeking a direction to the police authorities to secure call detail records (CDR) from service providers pursuant to a representation dated 13.04.2026. The petitioner relied on amended licensing conditions requiring the archival of communication records. The court held that the authorities are under an obligation to consider the representation within a stipulated timeframe. The core issue was whether the investigative authorities could be compelled to act on a request to retrieve archived call data based on current licensing amendments. The court reasoned that in light of statutory requirements for the preservation of commercial and technical records by licensees for at least two years, the representation warrants formal administrative consideration. The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the respondents to consider the representation within four weeks.
| Table of Content |
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| 1. initiation of writ proceedings for administrative action. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. mandatory consideration of representations concerning archival data retention. (Para 3 , 4) |
ORDER
Seeking to direct the respondents 1 and 2 to obtain call detail records from the respondents 3 and 4 respectively, pertaining to Mobile No. 6383562649 (Jio) with Mobile IMEI:8608888051032602/78 and petitioner's one another number 9042447649 (Airtel) and petitioner's friend, namely, Dhanapal Mobile No.9344373004 (Jio) Mobile IMEI:865752057408650 & 865752057408643 for the relevant period from 24.11.2024 morning hours till 24.11.2024 Noon by considering the petitioner's representation dated
13.04.2026, this writ petition is filed.
2. Considering the limited scope of the relief sought for, notice to the respondents 3 and 4 is dispensed with.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that in terms of the proceedings of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, bearing No.20-271 / 2010 AS-I (Vol.- III), dated, 21.12.2021, the Unified License (UL) agreement has been amended and in view of the said amendment, as on date, records like Commercial Records / Call Detail Record (CDR) / Exchange Detail Record (EDR) / IP Detail Record (IPDR) could be archived for at least two years for scrutiny by the Licensor.
4. In view of the same, the respondents 1 and 2 are directed to consider the petitioner's representation dated 13.04.2026 within a period of four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order and provide the necessary information as sought for.
5. With the above directions, this Writ Petition stands disposed of.
