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Jail time for Indian cell-phone pests

A committee of India’s parliament has recommended that laws be enacted to crack down on annoying cell phone users, including fines and prison sentences: The comments came in response to a petition filed by Gurjit Singh, a member of the public whose demands include making carrying mobiles at funerals and temples illegal and the installation ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
587055_090406_cellphone2.jpg
587055_090406_cellphone2.jpg
TO GO WITH PARUL GUPTA'S STORY Indian rickshaw puller Vinod talks on his mobile phone in New Delhi, 24 September 2007. Mobile phone connections in the country topped 200 million this month, with 8.31 million wireless subscribers. The growth is being driven almost entirely by lower-income groups, as prices of handsets and calls -- some of the lowest in the world -- decline. AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)

A committee of India's parliament has recommended that laws be enacted to crack down on annoying cell phone users, including fines and prison sentences:

A committee of India’s parliament has recommended that laws be enacted to crack down on annoying cell phone users, including fines and prison sentences:

The comments came in response to a petition filed by Gurjit Singh, a member of the public whose demands include making carrying mobiles at funerals and temples illegal and the installation of mobile phone jammers on school buildings to stop students making calls.

Mr Singh also wants phone companies to deploy equipment to disable mobiles on the roads to avoid traffic accidents, and is calling for a law under which civil servants could be imprisoned if they make personal calls on their handsets during office hours.

His final demand is that mobile phones fitted with cameras be outlawed “for the safety of women”.

 PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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