SC tells ED not to access, copy from Santiago Martin’s electronic devices

In a major order, the Supreme Court has restrained the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying content from electronic devices seized from Santiago Martin, known as the "lottery king", his relatives and employees.

The December 13 order was passed on a petition of Future Gaming and Hotels Services Pvt Ltd and Martin. The ruling may lead to re-think by investigative agencies before they decide to confiscate mobile phones or laptops of accused.

"Issue notice, in the meanwhile, there will be ad-interim relief in terms of prayer clauses (i) and (ii) of the application for interim relief,” a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said.

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SC notice to Centre

The bench issued notices to the Central government, the ED and its officers on the petition and fixed it for hearing along with pending ones on February 17, 2025.

Other matters include Amazon India employees and the 2023 Newsclick case where petitioners have sought guidelines for the seizure of digital devices by investigative agencies.

ED sources told PTI that they have seen the order and that there was other credible evidence recovered by them in the case apart from digital records.

Case against Martin

The searches against Martin were conducted in November at 22 locations in six states.

This happened after the Meghalaya Police accused Martin's company, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd of illegally monopolising the lottery business in the state.

The operation yielded Rs 12.41 crore in cash.

Lawyers argued against ED

Lawyers for Future Gaming argued that unrestricted access to seized electronic devices amounted to a violation of privacy and fundamental rights.

They said the devices contained deeply personal and business-critical data including financial details, medical records, passwords and strategic documents.