13 16. Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology, under the Central Government, is Respondent No. 3 herein, and is represented through its Secretary, is the nodal agency responsible for governing and implementing the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Rules thereunder. 17. Ministry of Communications, Dept. of Telecom, under the Central Government, is Respondent No. 4 herein, and is represented through its Secretary, is the nodal agency responsible for governing and implementing the provisions of the Telegraph Act, 1885 and Rules thereunder. II. LAWS GOVERNING SURVEILLANCE IN INDIA 18. Primarily, the special laws enacted by the Parliament relating to electronic surveillance are governed under: (a) THE TELEGRAPH ACT, 1885: By virtue of Section 5(2), substituted vide Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 1972, the Central and State Governments have been conferred with lawful authority to intercept or detain messages transmitted through the ‘telegraph’. Section 3(1AA) defines ‘telegraph’ as any “appliance, instrument, material or apparatus used or capable of use for transmission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, visual or other electronic-magnetic emissions, radio waves or Hertzian waves, galvanic, electric or magnetic means.” Section 5(2) reads as follows: (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