According to Central Information Commission, companies have to disclose the identity of anonymous callers to customers on request

If you spend half your day checking useless messages and the other half cursing at anonymous callers who choose the most unearthly hours to dial your number, then here's good news. In an order, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has said the identity of people making anonymous phone calls must be disclosed to the receiver by telecom companies as the public interest in such cases overrides the privacy clause.

The case relates to a resident of Kanpur, Hari Shanker Gupta, who was getting calls from two anonymous numbers on his mobile phone at odd hours. Gupta approached the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited with an RTI request to get details about the numbers from which he was getting calls. His request under the transparency law was denied by the officials of the state-run telecom firm. Following the reply from the BSNL, Gupta pleaded before the Central Information Commission to provide him the information.

"It is to be noted that while the right to privacy is sacrosanct, it is not an absolute right. Considerations of safety, security and convenience of the called party are also relevant considerations," Information Commissioner M L Sharma held in his order.