Cuttack, April 8: Orissa High Court today issued notices to both the central and state governments on a public interest litigation seeking steps to check and ban illegal sale of pre-paid mobile SIM cards in Odisha in view of the Nabakalebar festival in July.

The festival is expected to draw 50 lakh people to Puri.

The PIL filed by Amogh Mund and three others expressed apprehension that unchecked sale of pre-activated SIM cards without customer verification poses serious security threats.

"In such a situation when Odisha is expecting huge number of tourists in the upcoming Nabakalebar event in Puri, it may become an easy target for anti-national elements and undocumented SIM cards sold would aid the ill-intention of such elements," the petition says.

"The division bench of acting Chief Justice Pradip Mohanty and Justice Biswajit Mohanty, before which the petition came up today after a preliminary hearing, issued notices to the Union home and telecommunication secretaries and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)," counsel for the petitioner Abhijit Mishra told The Telegraph.

"The court also issued notice to the state's principal secretary, home," Mishra said. Responses are expected from them within four weeks.

The petitioners alleged that illegal sale of pre-paid mobile SIM cards was flourishing in the state due to "criminal negligence" of the TRAI and "negligent attitude" of the state government.

While paan shops are selling mobile SIM cards in violation of TRAI guidelines, forged and pre-activated mobile SIM cards have aided criminal activities in Odisha.

Officials of the state police have gone on record highlighting the trouble they face in investigating crimes due to uncontrolled widespread use of unverified SIM cards, the petition said.

According to TRAI guidelines, SIM cards are given to customers on physical verification, production of any one of government identity cards and a confirmation of the person's address.

But the guidelines are being violated across the state and dealers hand over pre-activated SIM card without verification to customers.

The TRAI provisions provide for criminal action under different sections of the Indian Penal Code against dealers, telecom operators and even subscribers who use such SIM cards.

Citing a CAG report tabled in Parliament in August last year, the petition said that "unverified SIM cards" were tools that aid criminals and terrorists who undermine the security of India and its citizen.