Should right to privacy be made a fundamental right under our constitution? Critically comment. (250 words)
Answers
In a milestone ruling, India's Supreme Court declared Thursday that privacy is a fundamental right for each of its 1.3 billion citizens protected under the country's constitution.
India, the world's biggest democracy, joins the United States, Canada, South Africa, the European Union and the United Kingdom in recognizing that there is such a right. In India, it could have wide-ranging implications. For example, laws that currently criminalize homosexuality could now be struck down on the grounds that what consenting adults do is private.
Nine justices unanimously joined the decision that was an exhaustive treatise on personal liberties. The 547-page judgment overturned earlier cases and declared, "Privacy is the constitutional core of human dignity."
Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar borrowed from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and equated privacy with the "right to be let alone." Khehar wrote: "The right to be let alone is a part of the right to enjoy life. The right to enjoy life is, in its turn, a part of the fundamental right to life of the individual."
Privacy advocates had petitioned the court over alleged data mining and challenged a government scheme that assigns every Indian a unique identification, through a so-called "Aadhaar" card. Critics argued the collection of biometric data in connection with the card was intrusive and could conceivably link up data to a person's spending habits, medical records and even bank transactions.
In a milestone ruling, India's Supreme Court declared Thursday that privacy is a fundamental right for each of its 1.3 billion citizens protected under the country's constitution.
India, the world's biggest democracy, joins the United States, Canada, South Africa, the European Union and the United Kingdom in recognizing that there is such a right. In India, it could have wide-ranging implications. For example, laws that currently criminalize homosexuality could now be struck down on the grounds that what consenting adults do is private.
Nine justices unanimously joined the decision that was an exhaustive treatise on personal liberties. The 547-page judgment overturned earlier cases and declared, "Privacy is the constitutional core of human dignity."
Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar borrowed from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and equated privacy with the "right to be let alone." Khehar wrote: "The right to be let alone is a part of the right to enjoy life. The right to enjoy life is, in its turn, a part of the fundamental right to life of the individual."
Privacy advocates had petitioned the court over alleged data mining and challenged a government scheme that assigns every Indian a unique identification, through a so-called "Aadhaar" card. Critics argued the collection of biometric data in connection with the card was intrusive and could conceivably link up data to a person's spending habits, medical records and even bank transactions.