West Bengal, Puducherry, Karnataka and Punjab on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court in support of declaring the right to privacy a fundamental right, PTI reported.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the four states, said the court “needs to strike a balance between the rights of the state and citizens on one hand and rights of citizens and non-state actors on the other”. “The right to privacy cannot be absolute.”
The bench, however, said that defining the right to privacy may do more harm than good. “How do we define privacy?” Justice DY Chandrachud asked the petitioners. “What are its contents? Its contours? How can the state regulate privacy? What obligations do the state have to protect a person’s privacy?”
On July 19, the court had said that the right was not absolute enough to stop the government from adding restrictions. It had held that violations of its provisions could only be decided on a case-to-case basis.
A nine-judge Supreme Court bench and a number of lawyers had held a long debate on the limits of the right to privacy. The outcome of the hearing is likely to determine whether Aadhaar cards violate such a right. The bench hopes to determine whether citizens have the right to privacy under the Indian Constitution.
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