Right to Privacy - Is it intrinsic in Indian Constitution?

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, Privacy means “the right to be let alone; the right of a person to be free from any unwarranted publicity; the right to live without any unwarranted interference by the public in matters with which the public is not necessarily concerned”

Privacy is the basic right which is inherent to every individual of our country. It implies that there is a core human personality that must be free from intrusion. In USA, UK and at International level UDHR(Universal Declaration of Human Rights), ICCPR(International Covenant on Civil Political Right) and ECHR(European Convention on Human Rights) the right to privacy has been recognised as a fundamental right.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India states that

“No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

After reading the Article 21, it has been interpreted that the term ‘life’ includes all those aspects of life which go to make a man’s life meaningful, complete and worth living. The Right to Privacy is a part of this.

In the 1950s, the Right to Privacy was not given much importance. The first time the issue of Right to privacy was ever raised in the case of M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra, AIR 1954 SC 300. It was held that they cannot bring privacy as the fundamental right because it is something alien to Indian Constitution.

In Kharak Singh v. the State of UP, AIR 1963 SC 1295, it was held by the Court that the right to privacy is a part of the right to protection of life and personal liberty. Here, the Court had equated privacy to personal liberty.

Later in the cases, Govind v. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1975 SC 1378 and Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597, the right to privacy was recognized.

Unni Krishnan v State of A.P., AIR 1993 SC 2178 numbered the twelve meanings of the right to life, and the right to privacy was one of them. The scope and ambit of the’right to be left alone’ came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in R. Rajagopal v. the State of T.N. during 1994. Court held that the right to privacy is implicit in the right to life and liberty guaranteed by Article 21.

Right to Privacy-Fundamental Right

On 24^th August 2017, a nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court held that privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India in case of Justice K.S.Puttaswamy v. Union of India.

“Privacy is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution and will be included under part III of the Constitution,” said chief justice J.S. Khehar while pronouncing the unanimous verdict. Supreme Court has ruled that privacy is a fundamental right that requires constitutional protection.

It was always known or assumed to be a common law right.

“Right to Privacy” will now find place under Part III of the Constitution of India along with other fundamental rights: right to equality before law, right to various freedoms such as speech and expression/to move freely, right against exploitation, right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights and right to constitutional remedies. Right to privacy is not an absolute right, it has limitations that need to be identified on the case-to-case basis. It is subject to certain reasonable restrictions which the State is entitled to impose on the basis of social, moral and compelling public interest in accordance with law. However, such a restriction of the fundamental right to privacy must be justified by a robust regime that ensures the fulfilment of a three-tiered test: the restriction must be provided by law, in pursuance of a legitimate aim, and is proportional to the object and needs sought to be fulfilled by such law.

Reference:

Economics Times, http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/right-to-privacy-under-article-21-and-the-related-conflicts-1630-1.html