"All human beings have three lives : public,private and secret ."
-Gabriel Garcia Marquez .
Privacy is the basis of a liberal democratic society .Privacy emerged as a contentious issue while the apex court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging central governments move to make Aadhar mandatory for availing government services .The petitioners included former Karnataka High Court judge K.S.Puttuswamy and activists Bezwada Wilson , Aruna Roy and others .
The judgement which upheld privacy as a fundamental right , might be the first instance of articulation of a human right in a post human world ,where homo-sapiens find themselves enmeshed in techno-social networks .
The judgement which upheld privacy as a fundamental right , might be the first instance of articulation of a human right in a post human world ,where homo-sapiens find themselves enmeshed in techno-social networks .
A nine judge constitutional bench delivered the landmark judgement and unanimously declared that the right to privacy is a fundamental right ,which will be protected as an intrinsic part of right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the constitution .The Supreme Court overruled some earlier judgments including M.P.Sharma Vs. Sathish Chandra( AIR 1954 SC 300) ,Kharak Singh Vs. State of utter Pradesh ( AIR 1963 SC 1295 ) , PuCL Vs. union of India (AIR 1997 SC 568 ) ,etc.
Rejecting the pleas raised by the central government ,Justice Challameswer held that ,"any state intrusion into what a person should read or think is a conditioning process of the masses thoughts and violation of privacy" .Citizens rights are primarily negative restrictions on the powers of the state .
Rejecting the pleas raised by the central government ,Justice Challameswer held that ,"any state intrusion into what a person should read or think is a conditioning process of the masses thoughts and violation of privacy" .Citizens rights are primarily negative restrictions on the powers of the state .
The judgement can be termed as a modern magna carta in this technology driven world order .The outcome from Wikileaks to Cambridge Analatica scams exposes the depth and width of intrusions made by corporate giants into the personal spaces .With this judgment the Supreme Court has upheld not just the sanctity of personal as well as data privacy but also held that assimilating such a right into the realm of Article 21 does not tantamount to rewriting the Constitution .
Privacy as a concept involves not merely a single right to be left alone , but extends to a number of different values integral to a persons most intimate choices . In a wider sense ,it may include the right to die ,right to abort a fetus ,LGBT rights ,etc. as observed by some critics .
The observations that Suresh Kaushal judgment is technically dead with Privacy judgment , has already set fire to another debate on the application of impugned judgement over section 377 IPC ,which penalizes unnatural sex .
The observations that Suresh Kaushal judgment is technically dead with Privacy judgment , has already set fire to another debate on the application of impugned judgement over section 377 IPC ,which penalizes unnatural sex .
The judges of the Supreme Court stood tall and shielded yet another attack on the civil liberties . The unanimous verdict delivered through six separate opinions marked a watershed movement in or constitutional history .Collectively ,the judgments could herald a new dawn .
To quote Justice A.M.Sapre ,"Right to privacy is born with the human being and stays until his death ." The largest democracy in the world insulated itself from the online intrusions by this historic verdict .
To quote Justice A.M.Sapre ,"Right to privacy is born with the human being and stays until his death ." The largest democracy in the world insulated itself from the online intrusions by this historic verdict .
