In a recent legal development, the Supreme Court of India has taken a significant step in addressing privacy concerns related to the sharing of Google PIN in criminal investigations. 

The bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, has sought clarification from Google India Pvt. Ltd. regarding the technical aspects of providing a PIN, a move prompted by a case where such sharing was made a condition for bail.

The case involves a Nigerian national accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The Delhi High Court, in May 2022, had imposed two stringent conditions for bail. Firstly, the accused had to use a PIN on Google Maps to make his location available to the investigating officer. The second condition required an assurance to the Nigerian High Commission that the accused would not leave the country and would appear before the trial court when required.

However, the Supreme Court has expressed reservations about the imposition of such stringent conditions. The bench highlighted the impracticality of expecting any embassy, in this case, the Nigerian High Commission, to fulfill such conditions. 

Consequently, the apex court has granted bail to the petitioner, rejecting the conditions imposed by the lower courts, except for the contentious requirement of providing the Google PIN.

In response to the complex technical aspects of Google PIN functionality, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology submitted an affidavit. The ministry suggested that seeking information directly from Google India Pvt. Ltd. would be more appropriate. 

Therefore, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to Google India Pvt. Ltd., requesting insights into the working mechanism of the Google PIN.

It's essential to note that the court clarified that Google India Pvt. Ltd. is not being included as a respondent in the case. Instead, the company's assistance is being sought solely to gather information about the functioning of Google PIN. 

Senior advocate Vinay Navare acted as an amicus curiae, providing valuable assistance to the court, while advocate Varun Mishra represented the accused in the case.