Supreme Court verdict on right to privacy live updates: In a unanimous ruling, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution.
New Delhi, Aug 24:
In a unanimous ruling, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution. The top court overruled the previous judgments in the M P Sharma and Kharak Singh cases, which had found that the right to privacy was not protected by the Constitution. The bench observed that privacy is intrinsic to freedom of life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, comprises Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde, R K Agrawal, R F Nariman, A M Sapre, D Y Chandrachud, S K Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer. The bench had reserved its verdict on the matter on August 2, after a marathon hearing spread over six days. The matter was referred to a constitution bench by a five-judge bench hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the Aadhaar Act.
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, which was set up by the CJI. The five-judge Constitution bench had on July 18 decided to refer the matter to a nine-judge bench.
Here are live updates on the Supreme Court’s ruling on right to privacy:
12.15 pm: Kollywood actor Kamal Haasan tweeted, “SC upholds the right to privacy Nothing vague or amorphous about it. People thank the Honourable Judges. These are moments that make India.”
11.36 am: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweets, “Thank u SC for this v important judgement.”
11.32 am: Odisha MP Thathagata Satpathy says “I adore the strength of this nation. Viva India”.
11.31 am: Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has reacted to the judgment on Twitter, saying, “I have a right to privacy & it’s a fundamental one. Yeyy.”
11.29 am: Senior advocate in the SC, Salman Khurshid, tweets, “Privacy Fundamental Right has far reaching implications 4 our democracy. Celebrate the defeat of forces that wish to intrude in our lives. Hope cheer leaders remember the govt aggressively opposed Privacy Right before Court. Shall await ministers congratulating the PM for this.”
11.27 am: Former finance minister P Chidambaram takes to Twitter welcoming the SC’s ruling. He says, “Privacy is a fundamental right. The freedom that was won in 1947 has been enriched and enlarged. Privacy is the core of personal liberty. Article 21 has acquired a new magnificence.”
11.26 am: BJP’s Subramanian Swamy has tweeted, “Welcome the SC judgment that Right to Privacy is a fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution. Now onto Aadhar modification.”
11.20 am: Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has called the SC’s judgment “path-breaking”. Taking to Twitter, he said, “Path breaking & seminal judgement of Supreme Court declares ‘Privacy’ as fundamental right. A great victory for liberty & freedom. S.C rejects Modi Govt’s attempt to whittle down the right to privacy as a fundamental right by AG’s plea of no mention in Constitution.”
11.15 am: In response to the judgment, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury has tweeted, “Congratulations to all lawyers, activists, others who fought this govt’s sinister designs to deny Indians their fundamental right to privacy. A far-reaching judgement which will have consequences in various domains, as technology is playing a greater role in our day-to-day lives. We have been opposed to mandatory Aadhaar, data misuse by foreign tech corporates. This judgement will pave the way for securing our rights.”
11.10 am: In case you’re just joining us, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, just ruled that the right to privacy is intrinsic to freedom of life and personal liberty as guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. The bench overruled the two existing judgments by the court on priva
