{"id":113951,"date":"2021-06-21T19:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T13:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=113951"},"modified":"2021-06-22T09:49:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T04:19:14","slug":"right-to-be-forgotten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/right-to-be-forgotten\/","title":{"rendered":"Right to be Forgotten &#8211; Explained, Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5><b>Introduction<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Delhi High Court ordered the removal of easy access from one of its own judgments. The move respected the petitioner&#8217;s<\/span><b> right to be forgotten (RTBF)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and aimed to prevent post-acquittal stigmatization. RTBF is a right to remove private information about a person from Internet searches and other directories under some circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is not explicitly available to the Indian masses. However, it has been implicitly recognised by courts as part of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. However, some experts have expressed concerns about it. Because RTBF deters the right to information and media freedom under Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution. Therefore, cautious balancing is desired, to enable its implementation in a restricted sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Why in the News?<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/delhi-high-courts-order-upholds-right-to-be-forgotten\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Delhi High Court in <\/a><\/span><b>Jorawar Singh Mundy v Union of India (2021)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> made an interim order protecting the rights of an American citizen.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The petitioner desired the removal of a judgment of acquittal in a case filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per the petition, the continued existence of judgment on the websites\/portals of Google and Indiankanoon had caused irreparable damage to his social life as well as his career prospects.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An interim order was issued by the High Court of Delhi. It directed Google and IndianKanoon to remove access to a judgment from their portals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court recognised that the petitioner <\/span><b>has a right to be forgotten,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which must be balanced with the right of the public to access the court&#8217;s records.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the <\/span><b>first instance <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of a court ordering the removal of access to its complete final judgment from certain spaces.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>About Right to be forgotten<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a right to remove private information about a person from Internet searches and other directories under some circumstances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It empowers individuals to ask organisations to delete their personal data.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Likewise, it allows the individuals to determine the development of their life in an autonomous way without being perpetually stigmatized for a specific action performed in the past.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>The scenario of Right to be forgotten in India<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The RTBF is not an explicit right granted to Indian citizens. Although courts in various judgments have emphasized the importance of this right.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>K.S Puttaswamy versus Union of India (2017)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the court deduced that the right to privacy also encompasses an individual\u2019s right to control his existence on the internet.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recommendations by the B.N Srikrishna committee also emphasized this right. Thus, it was incorporated under the <\/span><b>Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Section 20 of the bill states that every person has the right to restrict or prevent continuing disclosure of personal data by any data fiduciary. Provided such disclosure meets any one of the following conditions:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The disclosure served the purpose for which it was made or is no longer necessary<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further, the disclosure was made with the prior consent of the individual, and such consent has since been withdrawn.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, the disclosure was made contrary to the provisions of the new bill or any other law in force.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>International Scenario <\/b><b>of Right to be forgotten<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right took shape largely from the 1995 Directive of the <strong>European Union on the protection of individuals<\/strong> with regard to the processing of personal data.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is currently being provided by the <\/span><b>EU\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a law passed by the 28-member bloc in 2018.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the EU GDPR\u2019s website, the right to be forgotten appears in <\/span><b>Article 17 of the regulation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It states that the data subject shall have the right to obtain the erasure of personal data concerning him or her, without undue delay, from the controller. Further, the controller shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled that the \u2018right to be forgotten\u2019 under European law would not apply beyond the borders of EU member states.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was in favour of Google, which was contesting a French regulatory authority\u2019s order to have web addresses removed from its global database.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, the EU, UK, and Australia are strongly moving towards the consolidation of the Right to be forgotten.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Arguments in Favour of the right to be forgotten<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>First<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it will uphold <\/span><b>an individual&#8217;s privacy <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This would enable him\/her to fully <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/cbse-cant-refuse-to-change-names-after-declaring-results-supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">enjoy the right to life and personal liberty.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Second<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it would <\/span><b>prevent post-acquittal social stigmatization <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by society. The right may save an individual from additional punishments like social boycott, difficulty in getting jobs, doing marriage, etc.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Delhi HC revoked access to its judgment in <\/span><b>Jorawar Singh Mundy v Union of India (2021)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> based on this premise.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Third<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it would help in maintaining <\/span><b>a veil of secrecy on the victim\u2019s identity, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">especially in highly sensitive cases involving rape or affecting the modesty of the woman. This was observed by the Karnataka High court in <\/span><b>Sri Vasunathan v The Registrar General<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2017).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Fourth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, many articles are written based <\/span><b>on half-truths and mere accusations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The media doesn\u2019t update its prior articles based on future verdicts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Fifth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, much information is <\/span><b>published without an individual\u2019s consent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which may cause severe harm to its reputation and mental peace.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, uploading fake or revenge posts with respect to a person.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jasleen Kaur (a former Delhi University student) had in 2015 accused Saravjeet Singh of verbally harassing her at a traffic signal in West Delhi.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This induced media persons to label him an \u201ceve teaser\u201d and a \u201cpervert\u201d however he was later acquitted.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Arguments against the right to be forgotten<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>First, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it <\/span><b>gets in conflict with the right to information,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which is part of freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian constitution.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, a rape victim has a right that her past is forgotten. While a criminal cannot claim that he has the right to insist that his conviction should not be referred to by the media.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Second<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, under the proposed data protection bill, <\/span><b>removal depends on the discretion of the adjudicating officer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This may lead to partisan or arbitrary removal in favour of the government.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Third<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it may impair the <\/span><b>right of media personnel<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to do independent reporting. The adjudicatory officer may remove articles of media groups that generally criticize government policies.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, the freedom to criticize the public personalities for their public policies based on their past statements and activities will be in jeopardy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Fourth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the removal of <\/span><b>complete judgments may restrict public scrutiny<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of judicial performance to ascertain the fairness and objectivity of the administration of justice. Further judgments are an important source of learning for law students.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Fifth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the removal sometimes creates <\/span><b>a Streisand effect<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is a social phenomenon that occurs when an attempt to hide, remove or censor information has the unintended consequence of further publicizing that information.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Suggestions<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Privacy needs to be added as a ground for reasonable restriction<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under Article 19 (2) through a constitutional amendment for the effective implementation of RTBP.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>impending Data Protection Bill <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">should be passed expeditiously. This would give individuals a legal right to erase their unnecessary and inappropriate personal data.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The courts <\/span><b>should resort to narrow tailoring of the judgment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rather than forbidding access to its complete judgment.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, in the current Jorawar Singh Mundy v Union of India (2021), the court could have ordered that the name and personal details of the petitioner be censored while maintaining public access to the judgment itself.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right to be forgotten is well established across the world, although Indian courts have not had much occasion to deal with the same. However, this situation may change in the future as more petitions are likely to be filed on account of the evolving international jurisprudence and impending enactment of the Indian Personal Data Protection Bill.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction The Delhi High Court ordered the removal of easy access from one of its own judgments. The move respected the petitioner&#8217;s right to be forgotten (RTBF) and aimed to prevent post-acquittal stigmatization. RTBF is a right to remove private information about a person from Internet searches and other directories under some circumstances. It is&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/right-to-be-forgotten\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Right to be Forgotten &#8211; Explained, Pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,9],"tags":[1301,1581],"class_list":["post-113951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","category-public","tag-po_3","tag-po_9","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":2,"cached_at":1698382150,"cached_date":1698436581},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}