Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/faq-what-the-right-to-privacy-judgment-means-for-aadhaar-and-mass-surveillance-4682607.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | FAQ: What the Right to Privacy Judgment Means for Aadhaar and Mass Surveillance | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

FAQ: What the Right to Privacy Judgment Means for Aadhaar and Mass Surveillance
-TheWire.in

Does the right to privacy becoming a fundamental right mean the Aadhaar programme is unconstitutional or will be shut down? The Wire explains.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 24) ruled that all Indians enjoy a fundamental right to privacy, a right that is protected under Article 21 of the constitution.

But what does this mean for the government’s Aadhaar programme? Is it going to be shut down? How does the government view the fundamental right to privacy? What does it mean for mass surveillance? The Wire breaks it down.

* Does the right to privacy becoming a fundamental right mean the Aadhaar programme is unconstitutional or will be shut down?

In one word, no. While the right to privacy case stemmed from a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the identification scheme, Aadhaar by itself is out of the scope of today’s judgment.

A quick recounting of history is important in understanding this.

In October 2015, a Supreme Court constitution bench led by the then Chief Justice H.L. Dattu declared that the “Aadhaar card was purely voluntary” and could not be made mandatory. The bench further stated that the voluntary nature of Aadhaar would continue to be in place until a larger Supreme Court bench of judges decided whether the biometric authentication scheme violated the privacy of Indians.

It took the Supreme Court almost two years to set up that larger bench of five justices to examine whether Aadhaar violated the right to privacy. What happened during the initial July 2017 hearings is that both former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi and current attorney general K.K. Venugopal argued that the right to privacy was not a fundamental right. Venugopal, in particular, cited the 1963 Kharak Singh case to emphasise that there was no right to privacy under Article 21 and Article 19 (1) (d) of the constitution.

The attorney general’s argument is what kicked off the nine-judge bench which examined whether privacy could be seen as a fundamental right. The five-judge bench hearing on Aadhaar was stopped and a new one started.

On Thursday, the nine-judge bench delivered its judgment which dismantled the attorney general’s arguments and in particular overruled previous judgments in the Kharak Singh and MP Sharma cases.

* So what does this mean for the Aadhaar case?

The biggest immediate impact of the privacy judgment on Aadhaar is that it will end the legal gridlock over the fundamental nature of a ‘right to privacy’ and hopefully move along the court hearings on the validity of the government’s identification scheme.

The field is clear for the Aadhaar hearings, which were cut short, to resume under a smaller three-judge or five-judge bench.

According to legal experts, this judgment might indicate some momentum for the anti-Aadhaar camp, but the true test of a fundamental right to privacy will be when it is applied in specific legal cases. There are a number of upcoming cases out of which the Aadhaar hearings are one.

Please click here to read more.