Legality of Sting Operation in India

Sting operation is designed to catch the person committing a crime by means of deception. The word “sting” means set a trap to catch a crook. It is an information gathering exercise; it looks for the facts, “Every citizen strives for a corruption free society and must expose corruption whenever it comes to his knowledge. He shall also try to remove corruption at all levels of the State administration for better management of the State.Although there is no clear law which specifically allows or legalizes sting operation, but the court derived the right to conduct sting operation

under Article 51A (b) of the Constitution of India.This particular Article imposes a duty upon the citizens to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.

Sting operation can be classified into two types based on their purpose these are as follows:

1.      Positive sting operation

In positive sting operation society is benefited because it makes government responsible and accountable. It leads to the transparency in the government.

2.      Negative sting operation

In negative sting operations, it does not benefit the society, but they do harm the society and its individuals. It unnecessarily violates the privacy of the individual without any beneficial results to the society.

POSITION OF STING OPERATION IN INDIA:

In India till now we don’t have any direct provision or law on sting operation which guides such operations. But person can go to the court under different laws to protect his right. Wiretapping is a part of sting operation which is regulated under Telegraph Act, 1885. Court also gives the guideline for wiretapping by the government, which says that who can tap the phone and etc. The government is required to show that the information cannot be obtained through any other means and after that review committee check the legality of each wiretape. . These sting operations also violates right to privacy which according to the Supreme Court is guaranteed under Article 21- right to life and personal liberty. As we are provide that the freedom of expression guarantee in Article 19(1)(a) is not absolute therefore the constitution provides with Article 19(2) which protects the public interest morality and decency. A person who welcomes media interest in his life will not be able to claim a right to privacy as easily as a ‘private individual.

LEGALITY OF STING OPERATION IN INDIA:

Supreme Court of India said that sting operation is not a legal method of law enforcement, “A bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam said the apex court had approved sting operation carried out in public interest in R.K. Anand case but it will be difficult to understand the ratio in the said case as an approval of such a method as an acceptable principle of law enforcement in all cases.

Another issue that arises from such an operation is the fact that the means deployed to establish the commission of the crime itself involves a culpable act

It said unlike the U.S. and certain other countries where a sting operation is recognized as a legal method of law enforcement, though in a limited manner, the same is not the position in India.

The bench said questions are raised on what would be the position of such operations if conducted by a private individual who had stained his own hands while entrapping what he considers to be the main crime and the main offender.