Judgement of the Supreme Court of India regarding privacy as a constitutionally protected value, 24/08/2017
Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Justice K S Puttaswamy & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 24/08/2017 regarding right to privacy. Supreme Court rules that "the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution".
Excerpts from the Judgement of the nine member bench:
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, R. K. Agrawal and Dr D Y Chandrachud clearly stated that "the submission that recognising the right to privacy is an exercise which would require a constitutional amendment and cannot be a matter of judicial interpretation is not an acceptable doctrinal position. The argument assumes that the right to privacy is independent of the liberties guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution. There lies the error. The right to privacy is an element of human dignity".
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul stated that "right of privacy, an inherent right, be unequivocally a fundamental right embedded in part-III of the Constitution of India, but subject to the restrictions specified, relatable to that part. This is the call of today. The old order changeth yielding place to new".
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said that "right to privacy is a part of fundamental right of a citizen guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution. However, it is not an absolute right but 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".