The judgement of the Supreme Court in 2017 in the case of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (retd.) and Anr. vs. Union of India held that?
The judgement of the Supreme Court in 2017 in the case of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (retd.) and Anr. vs. Union of India held that?
The judgement by the Supreme Court in 2017 in the case of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (retd.) and Anr. vs. Union of India held that the Right to Privacy is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. This landmark decision established privacy as a distinct and independent fundamental right, thus affirming it as a crucial part of the constitutional framework.
The Bench unanimously held 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”. In doing so, it overruled previous judgments of the Supreme Court in M.P. The Supreme Court, through six separate opinions, pronounced privacy to be a distinct and independent fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The crux of the decision spelled out an expansive interpretation of the right to privacy - it was not a narrow right against physical invasion, or a derivative right under Article 21, but one that covered the body and mind, including decisions, choices, information and freedom.