In Brief
The Supreme Court of India held that privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution, emerging primarily from Article 21 (life and personal liberty) and other provisions in Part III. In this landmark judgment, a nine-judge bench overruled previous decisions in M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh to the extent they denied constitutional privacy protection. The Court recognized privacy as an inalienable natural right essential to human dignity. Privacy cannot be absolute and may be restricted only when a law satisfies three requirements: legality, legitimate state aim, and proportionality. The judgment covers spatial privacy, informational privacy, decisional autonomy, and bodily integrity. The right applies against both state and non-state actors. The decision emphasized that constitutional interpretation must evolve with technological change and modern challenges.
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