Even as the Centre maintains that Right to Privacy is not a Fundamental Right, a key Opposition-ruled state – Karnataka – is set to enter the ongoing legal debate by telling a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court that it doesn't agree with the views of the Centre.
Congress-ruled Karnataka will be the first state to oppose the Centre on such a key issue.
On Tuesday, when the nine-judge bench resumes hearing on the issue of whether Indian citizens have an inherent right to privacy under the Constitution, former Union Law Minister and senior advocate Kapil Sibal will appear for the State of Karnataka.
"We don't agree with the stand taken by the Centre. And, that is what we will tell the court. Right to privacy is central to human dignity and it is surprising we are still having this debate on whether we have a right to privacy," Sibal told DNA.
Karnataka Additional Advocate General Devadutt Kamat says, "While we understand that it is facet of Article 21, right to privacy may not be absolute. A lot of data concerning citizens is out in the public domain. But, the state can't prey upon this data without just cause and reason. Also, regimes will have to be put in place to a system under which the citizens' data can be accessed by the state in exceptional circumstances like crime against country."
Kamat also said that it was the duty of the state to protect the personal data of the citizens accessed by it.
Earlier this week, Attorney General KK Venugopal had contended in court that the Right to Privacy was a common law right. "The founding fathers of the Constitution gave its citizens all kinds of Fundamental Rights, [but] the right to privacy was consciously avoided," he had submitted before a five-judge bench hearing matters pertaining to the Constitutional validity of Aadhaar.
During the hearing, the nine-judge bench had observed that privacy was not an absolute right while the petitioners who opened arguments had asserted that privacy was a fundamental and absolute right.
"It is all well and good to argue about privacy in the abstract. What are its contents? What are the contours? How can the state regulate privacy? What obligations do the state have to protect a person's privacy?," Justice DY Chandrachud had questioned towards the end of the hearing on day one.
State’s Contentions
Former Union law minister Kapil Sibal will represent the State of Karnataka.
“We don’t agree with the stand taken by the Centre,” Sibal told DNA.
“Right to Privacy is central to human dignity. It is surprising we are debating it,” he added.
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