India’s Supreme Court rules in favor of right to privacy

By APD Writer Rishika Chauhan

NEW DELHI, August 25 (APD)— The Supreme Court of India declared individual privacy as a fundamental right on Thursday.

A nine-judge bench passed the judgment, stressing that the right to privacy was a part of right to life, liberty and speech, though with “reasonable restrictions when it came to national security, fighting crime and distribution of state benefits.”

Justice S.A Bobde explained, “The right to privacy is inseparably bound up with all exercises of human liberty.”

The judgment is especially important because it is tied with the validity of Aadhaar card, which is a 12-digit biometric identification card the government is hoping to make compulsory to execute a number of daily life functions like operating bank accounts, buying property, receiving scholarships and paying tax.

Government’s efforts to make Aadhaar card compulsory have been opposed as it is being said that the information can be misused by the government, which has collected finger prints, eye scans and personal details of more than 80% of the 1.25 billion people in the country.

However, the government has been insisting that disclosure of the information will also prevent corruption. The judgment will also have a bearing on civil rights and the law criminalizing homosexuality in India.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)