JOIN USThe Supreme Court’s judgement that the right to privacy is a fundamental right and is an inalienable part of being human is historic, next perhaps only to the Kesavananda Bharati case ruling which said that the basic structure of the Constitution cannot be altered. That the ruling was the unanimous pronouncement of the nine-member Constitution bench underlines its importance and irrefutability. The court asserted that the right to privacy is an integral part of the right to life and liberty which is granted to citizens by the Constitution and protected by it. It has put an end to the confusion created by contradictory judgements on the matter in the past. There cannot be a better endorsement of the value of the right than the statement that it is natural and inherent in the right to life and is the “constitutional core of human dignity’’. It has expanded the scope of basic rights.
The ruling should lead to a redefining of the contract between the Citizen and the State and the relationship between the individual on the one side and the government, society, and other collective entities on the other. It has empowered the citizen by upholding his right to be left alone, by specifically restraining the government from intruding into his personal space and by even obligating it to protect the individual’s privacy. This is vital as a statutory safeguard against the actions of a snooping and demanding surveillance state and corporate entities that misuse personal data. Such assaults have been shrinking and threatening the citizen’s freedoms and choices. The ruling will therefore have a major impact on government plans and public policies, past decisions of both the judiciary and the executive, the working of institutions like the media and even individual behaviour in society. The specific mention of sexual orientation as an attribute of privacy should lead to the decriminalisation of homosexuality and put an end to discriminatory policies against the LGBT community. Similarly, the right to eat and the right to dress the way one likes and some other rights that are under attack now will be protected by the ruling. The court’s observation that the right to privacy recognises the plurality and diversity of our culture is relevant here.
Like all other rights, the right to privacy is subject to reasonable restrictions. Its scope and limits will now be tested in the Aadhaar case which is before the court. The issue of privacy actually arose from that case. The government had maintained during hearings in the Aadhaar case that privacy is not a fundamental right and is an imported and elitist idea. It has done well to accept the ruling now, and should respect it in letter and spirit.