Sagar Suryawanshi Pune based Advocate is known to highlight the loopholes in the rules of Indian laws to ensure that these cannot be used against the country. In the same context, we will be discussing the right to privacy in this article. And since Sagar Suryawanshi, a Pune advocate has always been keen on how he can make the Indian Constitution better, we will also see how the right to privacy can be made better.
What is the right to privacy?
Privacy is something which is very much required by each and every person in order to keep their personal space protected. Therefore, the right to privacy is one of the most important aspect in today’s world. Talking about the right to privacy, it is a fundamental human right that was both appreciated and debated in many forums and countries for many years. However, now it is a part of fundamental rights at both International and national levels. This right to privacy is the main right via which the dignity of a human being can be protected. Whenever an individual aims to protect his privacy and wants to stop any kind of illegal interruption, he or she can use the right to privacy. This right to privacy is available against a state, journalist and even your neighbour. If we go back, we will see that in the last few years the judgement of the supreme court has made the headlines of the newspaper. The Supreme court not only protects the rights of an individual but also strengthens them. For example, the judgement of section 377, triple talaq judgement and the aadhaar judgement.
Till a few years ago, as per the supreme court, to protect society, the state had the right to override the power of search and seizure. The supreme court also said that in the Indian Constitution there is no concept known as the right to privacy. On the contrary, there is an amendment present in the US constitution that prohibits illegal search and seizure and provides the right to privacy to their citizens.
But, in the year 2017, the right to privacy was declared as the fundamental right by the Supreme Court.
What restricts the right to privacy?
As defined by the supreme court of India, there are certain rights restricted to privacy such as surveillance and censorship. This is only permissible in cases when they are prescribed by law. Recently, there are some developments made in the IT industry, due to which data of an individual can be stored very easily by some unknown source, without the consent of the individual. This is a criminal offence if that data is used for some unethical practice.
The right to privacy given by the Indian Constitution comes with a lot of restrictions attached to it. All of these restrictions were declared after taking into account various judgements. Some of these are mentioned as below:-
● In case any restriction on right to privacy is supposed to be imposed only by following certain constitutional procedures.
● If there are any conditions, where the restriction on the right to privacy is to be imposed, to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country, security of the state or the nation, defamation or incitement to an offence, then it cannot be challenged.
● The right to privacy is also restricted in case of any kind of any compelling state interest to be served.
● The right of privacy does not apply to anyone, who on purpose lets himself or themselves into some or other kind of controversies.
● Like other fundamental rights given by the constitution of India, the right of privacy is applicable only against the state. This rule is defined under Article 12 of the Indian Constitution.
Some required changes in the right to privacy
There are some changes that if implemented to the right to privacy, can bring effective transformation. They are:-
● Simplifying the legal framework which regulates the information about surveillance. This will ensure that the law is equal and transparent.
● To form a framework that has a very strong grip on all the communications that deals with the security and intelligence of the country.
● Review and reorganise all the laws that talk about the import and export in the country.
Conclusion
The right to privacy is one of the most important rights to protect an individual’s identity. And it is very essential to ensure that it is never misused in any condition.