Ever since WhatsApp groups became a thing and de rigeur in India, group messages, from school to college to neighbours to many more, have kept phone users hooked, and despondent at the same time, at the flurry despite turning off notifications and whatnot.
Justice KV Viswanathan of the Supreme Court took note of the same during the hearing of the bail plea of Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K. Kavitha in which the bench of Justice BR Gavai and Viswanathan granted bail to the Telangana leader.
Kavitha’s counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, was arguing that the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate were charging her of threatening witnesses. She just changed her phone, Rohatgi said.
The bench then asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for CBI and ED, why the prosecution was not extending her the beneficial proviso.
To this, ASG Raju said she has destroyed the phone and formatted it. Rohatgi added Kavitha had given the phone to her servant.
Raju then asked: “An iPhone?”, Rohatgi replied so what. Raju drew the attention of the bench saying her conduct amounts to tampering with evidence and threatening witnesses.
This is when Justice Viswanathan said, “Mr Raju, phone is such a private thing. There will be other things in it. I am just on human contact. Normal contact. There may be partial removal of messages in exchanging. Like I have a habit of deleting messaged in school and college groups where so many things are put and it gets messed up.”
ASG Raju maintained she should not have formatted the phone since she had been asked to produce it.
Justice Gavai asked, So many counsels have 2-3 phones?
Justice Viswanathan, who had been practising as a Senior Advocate before being appointed to the Supreme Court, said: “Yes, personal numbers we keep, because otherwise we will always be bombarded.”
ASG Raju said he also keeps two phones. He admitted he doesn’t like the iPhone but keeps one to facetime with his grandchildren apart from an Android.