India, Aug. 13 -- The Delhi High Court held that privacy concerns cannot override the need to preserve call data records (CDRs) when such evidence could help an accused establish innocence.

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambani made the observation on Tuesday while hearing a plea by a man accused of stalking and sexually harassing a woman, seeking preservation of both his and the complainant's CDRs from April 2020 to May 2023.

The case dates to May 2023, when Delhi Police booked the man under provisions of the IPC and IT Act based on a complaint that he had been stalking and harassing the woman since 2020 despite repeated warnings. The man, however, claimed they had been in a three-year relationship, which ended after her husband found out.

A t...