Right to privacy is a fundamental right: SC

New Delhi, August 24 : In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared right to privacy a fundamental right under the Constitution. In a unanimous verdict, a nine-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar ruled that right to privacy is a part of right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Bench also said right to privacy is “intrinsic” to other fundamental freedoms guaranteed under Part-III, i.e., chapter on ‘Fundamental Rights of the Constitution’.
The verdict, which lays down the law on right to privacy, would have a bearing on petitions seeking to declare illegal Section 377 which criminalises gay sex. It will also affect the outcome of petitions challenging ‘two-finger test’ conducted on rape victims. The government’s ambitious Aadhaar scheme will get impacted as petitions challenging it on the ground of violation of right to privacy would be decided by a smaller Bench separately on the basis of the law declared by the nine-Judge Bench. The verdict assumes significance in the age of social media, as individuals can claim constitutional protection for their data. The verdict will also impact the outcome of petitions challenging WhatsApp privacy policy pending before a five-judge Constitution Bench. The nine-judge Constitution Bench specifically overruled two earlier verdicts that said right to privacy was not a fundamental right under the Constitution. In MP Sharma and others versus Satish Chandra, an eight-judge Constitution Bench had held in 1954 that right to privacy was not a fundamental right. A similar view was taken by a six-judge Bench in 1962 in Kharak Singh versus the State of Uttar Pradesh.