Supreme Court phenomenally declares Right to Privacy as Fundamental Right under the Constitution. In a unanimous ruling passed by a nine judge bench of the Supreme Court today declared Right to Privacy as Fundamental Rights. The ruling delivered was based on an array of petitions that challenge the mandatory use of Aadhaar assigned a unique 12- digit ID to every citizen. Petitioners feel that enforcing the use of Aadhaar is an infringement of privacy.
The court overruled the previous judgements which do not protect the right to privacy under the Constitution. The bench observed that privacy is intrinsic to freedom of life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The question of whether the right to privacy is a fundamental right guaranteed under the constitution was first raised in the apex court before a three judge bench.
A batch of petitioners had challenged the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory to benefit from social and welfare schemes. The three judge bench had referred the case to a larger bench on July 7. The five judge bench had on July 18 decided to refer the matter to a nine judge bench. The centre, through attorney general K.K.Venugopal, argued against privacy being an inviolable fundamental right. This argument was presented to the bench and the cross wires of fundamental rights are being examined.
The petitioners and commoners expressed their consent as the right to privacy is the most needed fundamental right in this globalising period. They said that right to liberty, which also included the right to privacy, was a natural right which should be acknowledged by the Constitution and should be guaranteed to the citizens of the country.
