Mains Practice Questions

Introduction

The SC’s judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs. Union of India (2017) reshaped India’s constitutional framework by recognizing the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21. By embedding privacy within the core of life, the judgment has significantly transformed the interpretation and implementation of Fundamental Rights.

Body

Right to Privacy and the Reinterpretation of Fundamental Rights:

• Reinforcement of Fundamental Rights: The Right to Privacy strengthens other Fundamental Rights by protecting the integrity of a person’s body, mind, and thoughts, ensuring that individuals can live with dignity, free from unwarranted intrusion or control.
  • It protects freedom of speech (Art. 19) by shielding individuals from unwarranted surveillance, upholds equality (Art. 14) by preventing discriminatory state interference.
    • Ensures protection from arbitrary searches (Art. 20) by mandating lawful state action.
• Protection of Personal Autonomy: The judgment emphasizes that individuals must have the autonomy to make intimate personal decisions, such as those involving sexual orientation, reproductive choices, and gender rights, free from state intrusion.
  • E.g., in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018) ruling, which decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships by affirming that privacy is essential to individual liberty and dignity.
• Constitutional Limitations on State Power: The Right to Privacy judgment established that any state intrusion must satisfy the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality, thereby imposing constitutional limits on state power.
  • E.g., in the Aadhaar case (2018), where the Supreme Court upheld its use for welfare delivery but restricted its application in private services, balancing public interest with individual privacy.
• Impact on Policy Reform: The Right to Privacy judgment catalyzed the formulation of the Personal Data Protection Bill (2019), aiming to regulate personal data use by both state and private entities.
  • It also expanded broader policy reforms, with increased focus on digital privacy, and the reassessment of laws like the RTI Act, 2004 and cybersecurity frameworks.

Conclusion

The Right to Privacy judgment has expanded the scope of Fundamental Rights in India, especially in the digital era. To uphold its spirit, India must maintain a fair balance between individual freedom and national interest.