Power for Government to take possession of licensed telegraphs and to order interception of messages
Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 deals with power for Government to take possession of licensed telegraphs and to order interception of messages. On the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of the public safety, the Central Government or a State Government or any officer specially authorised in this behalf by the Central Government or a State Government may, if satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do, take tempo The Act came into force on 01 Oct 1885.
1 [5. Power for Government to take possession of licensed telegraphs and to order interception of messages.--(1) On the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of the public safety, the Central Government or a State Government or any officer specially authorised in this behalf by the Central Government or a State Government may, if satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do, take temporary possession (for so long as the public emergency exists or the interest of the public safety requires the taking of such action) of any telegraph established, maintained or worked by any person licensed under this Act.
(2) On the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of the public safety, the Central Government or a State Government or any officer specially authorised in this behalf by the Central Government or a State Government may, if satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offence, for reasons to be recorded in writing, by order, direct that any message or class of messages to or from any person or class of persons, or relating to any particular subject, brought for transmission by or transmitted or received by any telegraph, shall not be transmitted, or shall be intercepted or detained, or shall be disclosed to the Government making the order or an officer thereof mentioned in the order:
Provided that press messages intended to be published in India of correspondents accredited to the Central Government or a State Government shall not be intercepted or detained, unless their transmission has been prohibited under this sub-section.]
Section 5, The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (Act 13 of 1885).
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Vinit Kumar v. CBI
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Final Order order-11.pdf 2019-10-22. WP 2367/2019. Ranjit More/N.J. Jamadar. DATE-CHECK flagged 2009-10-29 / 2009-12-18 / 2010-02-24 interception-order fact dates (false positive); body is the named reportable, digitally signed 2019.10.22. Ratio is Telegraph Act s.5(2) / PUCL / Rule 419A Review Committee — interception without public emergency or public safety, and without Review Committee compliance, is illegal. Companion WPs HCBM010479322018 / HCBM010479352018 are withdrawals — skip. Do not map IT Act 69: the labelled pages isolate s.5(2), not a clean s.69 holding.
On this section: s.5(2) interception is legal only on a public emergency or public-safety ground and only with Rule 419A Review Committee compliance (Vinit Kumar, following PUCL).
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Jagdish Chandra vs C.b.i.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Hard discs on which intercepted telephone conversations have been recorded are electronic records and therefore documents within the meaning of Section 173(5)(a) read with Section 207(v) CrPC. The prosecution is obliged to furnish to the accused copies of only such documents that it proposes to rely upon as indicated in the charge sheet or of those already sent to the court during investigation. At the pre-charge stage, the trial court cannot direct the prosecution to furnish copies of documents other than those which it proposes to rely upon. However, where the charge sheet indicates that the prosecution is relying upon certain documents, the accused must be given access to those documents. In the instant case, the scope of the APFSL examination was to certify that the hard discs were properly functioning and that the calls copied on to the CDs were true copies of the original recordings in the hard discs. Only to this extent can it be said that the hard discs are being relied upon by the prosecution. The certification in terms of Section 65B(4) EA does not obviate the statutory requirement under Section 207(v) of providing to the accused access to the original recording of the relevant intercepted telephone conversation as a relied upon document. Therefore, the accused should be permitted to listen to the original recordings of the relevant intercepted telephonic conversations relied upon by the prosecution by having the said original recordings played directly from the hard discs in the presence of the accused or their representatives, their counsel and the learned Judge.
On this section: Legality of telephone interception and surveillance
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 5
What have the courts held on Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act?
Vinit Kumar v. CBI (22 Oct 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.5(2) interception is legal only on a public emergency or public-safety ground and only with Rule 419A Review Committee compliance (Vinit Kumar, following PUCL). Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2008 to 2019.
How do I find court cases under Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Indian Telegraph Act 1885 5, section 5 Indian Telegraph Act 1885, section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act. People searching for it also type indian telegraph act section 5 2 and indian telegraph act 1885 section 5. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Vinit Kumar v. CBI (22 Oct 2019).
When did Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act come into force?
Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act, cited as Indian Telegraph Act 1885 5, came into force on 01 Oct 1885, having been enacted on 22 Jul 1885. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 7. Power to make rules for the conduct of telegraphs901 words
- 4. Exclusive privilege in respect of telegraphs, and power to grant licenses597 words
- 19A. Person exercising legal right likely to damage telegraph or interfere with telegraphic communication to give notice325 words
- 16. Exercise of powers conferred by section 10, and disputes as to compensation, in case of property other than that of a local authority325 words
- 3. Definitions316 words
- 17. Removal or alteration of telegraph line or post on property other than that of a local authority255 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 23 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.