August 7, Kathmandu — After a six-year gap, the government is once again preparing a law that would allow phone conversations of citizens to be recorded.

A draft of the proposed “National Intelligence and Investigation Bill” has been prepared. The bill, made public by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers for public feedback, proposes to expand the jurisdiction of intelligence agencies. This includes allowing surveillance and monitoring of phone calls and other communication networks of citizens.

A similar attempt was made in 2019, during KP Sharma Oli's previous term as Prime Minister. That draft law, which aimed to control citizens through phone tapping, had faced strong public backlash and was ultimately shelved.

Now, six years later, the government is making a renewed attempt.

Article 15 of the proposed bill lays out special provisions for information collection. It states:

“If information cannot be obtained through other means and failure to do so immediately could cause serious harm to the nation, and if the Director General of Intelligence is convinced of this, they may authorize a subordinate official in writing to intercept or monitor any communication, audio, visual, electronic signals or data involving a suspect person, group, or organization, under their direct supervision.”

The bill defines the term “interception” as the act of monitoring any type of communication network to extract necessary information.

To carry out such operations, the National Investigation Department will be allowed to link its computer database system with that of other government or public bodies, with read-only access.

Under the Director General’s order, the authorized officer can record communication. While doing so, the officer must ensure that the recording process does not disrupt the concerned individual or organization. The officer can also request the cooperation of telecom service providers, business owners, or other related persons for the interception.

The draft is currently open for public opinion and will be revised based on feedback. It will then be sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Finance, before being forwarded to the Cabinet.

Only after Cabinet approval will it be tabled in Parliament. It will become law once both Houses of the Federal Parliament pass it.

People’s News Monitoring Service