Personal Data Protection Bill can turn India into ‘Orwellian State’: Justice BN Srikrishna

BENGALURU: Justice BN Srikrishna, who led the committee that drafted the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDP), said the bill placed in Parliament on Wednesday, which allows the Centre to exempt its agencies from some or all provisions, is “dangerous” and can turn India into an “Orwellian State”.

The government could exempt its agencies from rules that govern processing of personal data citing national security, public order and friendly relations with foreign states. However, this will be subject to procedures, safeguards and oversight mechanism of the respective agency.