Central Govt Must Take This Seriously: Kerala HC On Foreign Company Conducting Surveys Among Indian Citizens Allegedly Hurting Sentiments Of Muslims
|The Kerala High Court has asked the Central Government to take seriously the issue regarding the surveys conducted by a foreign company among Indian citizens and accused of hurting sentiments of the Muslim community.
The Court was dealing with a Criminal Miscellaneous Case in which the question to be decided was whether a foreign company can conduct surveys and research among the citizens of India without sanction from the Central Government.
A Single Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan remarked, “If these types of surveys are allowed to continue, the same will affect the security of our country and importantly religious harmony. The Central Government should take it very seriously, and if there is any intention to topple the integrity of our country by conducting such surveys, appropriate steps should be taken in accordance with the law.”
The Bench said that, it is surprising to see that a foreign company is conducting a survey in our country with a bunch of suspicious questions.
Advocate Enoch David Simon Joel represented the Petitioners while Public Prosecutor Sangeetharaj N.R. represented the Respondent.
Factual Background -
A US based organization namely PSRA (Princeton Survey Research Associates) had entered into an agreement with an Indian company TNS India Pvt. Ltd. in 2010 to conduct a very sensitive study in India. TNS collected some questionnaires from PSRA and it was stated by PSRA that it was conducting research in more than 20 countries on the project titled “Green Wave 12”. Accordingly, the survey was conducted in 54 locations, including Thiruvananthapuram.
The survey was conducted by the officials of the company by filling out the survey booklets based on the answers given by the people during the same. One day, a situation took place in the morning and the Sub Inspector of Police saw somebody with some booklets retained at the spot. The Police Officer found that some of the questionnaires in the booklets may hurt the religious sentiments and holy faith of Muslim community. Hence, the booklets were seized and the case was registered against TNS.
The High Court in the above context of the case, noted, “I am of the considered opinion that the survey itself is suspicious. Our country is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. There is no difference between man and women in our country. There is no serious difference of opinion between Hindus, Muslims, Christian, Sikhs etc in our country. Citizens in our country are known as brothers and sisters.”
The Court further observed that, if an organization in a foreign country wants to conduct a survey in our land, permission from the Central Government is necessary and admittedly, there is no sanction from the Central Government for conducting such a survey. It added that the investigation by the State Police is not enough in this case.
“The Registry should forward a copy of this order to the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India”, it directed.
The Court also ordered the investigating authority to forward a report to the Central Government about the investigation so far conducted forthwith.
Accordingly, the High Court disposed of the Criminal Miscellaneous Case and issued necessary directions.
Cause Title- TNS India Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. State of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:82323)
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocates Enoch David Simon Joel, George A. Cherian, Leo Lukose, Paul Jacob P., Rony Jose, and S. Sreedev.
Respondent: Public Prosecutor Sangeetharaj N.R.