New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS): On a petition to bring intelligence agencies under legislative scrutiny and their accounts under the CAG, the Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the central government, Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, National Technical Research Organisation and the attorney general.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir issued the notice after senior counsel Anil Divan submitted that these intelligence agencies were snooping on the privacy of the citizens and were operating without any legislative mandate.

Appearing for NGO Centre of Public Interest Litigation, Divan told the court the petition was not seeking any disclosure of secrets but merely asking that there should be some guidelines to regulate the operations of intelligence agencies.

The court was told that the funding of these intelligence agencies was being done from the consolidated fund of India, thus their accounts should be brought under the scanner of the Comptroller and Auditory General (CAG) of India.