SIM Card Registration: The Complaint of Rama Valayden and Ivor Tan Yan Dismissed

The Supreme Court has dismissed the constitutional complaint filed by Me Rama Valayden, Senior Counsel, and trade unionist Ivor Tan Yan, challenging the mandatory registration of SIM cards in Mauritius. In a ruling delivered on March 6, 2026, judges Véronique Kwok Yin Siong Yen and Renuka Devi Dabee determined that the case was no longer relevant. The contested regulations were indeed revoked by the Information and Communication Technologies (Registration of SIM) (Revocation) Regulations 2025, which came into effect on January 6, 2025.

They noted that the new regulation now requires operators to destroy the collected photographs and certify this destruction to the appropriate authority. Under these circumstances, they concluded that there was no longer a "live issue" to resolve. It was emphasized that courts do not rule on "hypothetical, premature, or academic" matters.

The complaint, dated November 21, 2023, targeted the State and the Minister of Information Technology, Communication, and Innovation. The complainants, the lawyer and the trade unionist, contested the constitutionality of the Information and Communication Technologies (Registration of SIM) Regulations 2023, arguing that the obligation to provide biometric data and a photograph infringed upon several fundamental rights protected by the Constitution.