Saturday, January 21 2006 14:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Faced with the phone tapping controversy, Government has said it was open for any measure to protect the privacy of individuals even as it made it clear that those phones which need to be monitored in the country's interest would be done.

"Many of the investigations which have taken place against terrorists have been done with the help of the conversations over the phones," Home Minister Shivraj Patil told Karan Thapar in an interview for CNN-IBN news channel.

"Those whose phones need to be tapped in the interest of the country, in the interest of the security and defending innocent persons lives, it will be done," he said.

At the same time, he said Government was ready to look into measures to ensure that it (phone-tapping) was not misused.

"If there is any defect in the law, if any improvement is required to meet the technical developments that have taken that can be examined on the floor of the House and if any improvement is required the Government would certainly do it," he added.

"I am open. if anything has to be done to protect the privacy and reputation and interest of any person, any organisation, any political party and in the interest of the country what has to be done, it can be done," he said.