{"id":34116,"date":"2018-10-30T15:53:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=34116"},"modified":"2018-10-30T15:53:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:23:15","slug":"right-to-privacy-as-right-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/right-to-privacy-as-right-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Right to privacy as Right to life\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/right-to-privacy-as-right-to-life\/article20005285.ece\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right to privacy as Right to life<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Context:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is important for the courts to examine disability as a ground for the grant of bail<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Introduction:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Supreme Court\u2019s right to privacy judgment (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India), Justice D.Y.Chandrachud held \u201cLife and personal liberty are inalienable to human existence. The human element in the life of the individual is integrally founded on the sanctity of life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court observed that a constitutional democracy can survive when citizens have an undiluted assurance that the rule of law will protect their rights and liberties against any invasion by the state and those judicial remedies to those deprived of these most precious rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Violation of right to life<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2014, Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act .<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In March 2017, he was convicted by the Gadchiroli session court to life imprisonment for alleged offences under the same act.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The grounds of his conviction are debatable, the immediate concern is regarding the question of miscarriage of justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He was suffered from severe disabilities and multiple related health conditions .<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Placing him in solitary confinement with no support violates his right to life, bodily integrity and autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution, although his conviction only impose restraints on personal liberty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prisoners in jail may be deprived of personal liberty according to procedure established by law, but that does not include a derogation of their right to dignity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The privacy Bench reiterated the words of Justice Krishna Iyer in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prem Shankar Shukla <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">case: \u201cThe guarantee of human dignity, which forms part of our constitutional culture, and the positive provisions of Articles 14, 19 and 21 spring into action when we realise that to manacle man is more than to mortify him; it is to dehumanise him and, therefore, to violate his very personhood, too often using the mask of \u2018dangerousness\u2019 and security\u2026\u201d and that the right to life cannot be restricted to mere \u201canimal existence\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Life, liberty and freedom<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court holds unequivocally that in adopting the Constitution, the people of India do not surrender the most precious aspects of the human persona \u2014 namely life, liberty and freedom \u2014 to the state on whose mercy these rights would depend.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each of these aspects \u2014 life, liberty and freedom \u2014 must be considered together and\/or severally as the case may be.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where there is a sentence on personal liberty, the citizen does not surrender his life to the mercy of the state.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Entitled to bail<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the light of the decision of the Supreme Court on the right to privacy, particularly its comments on the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suresh Kumar Koushal<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> judgment on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the habeas corpus case, one cannot help but hope that the Nagpur High Court, in considering Mr. Saibaba\u2019s appeal against his conviction, similarly examines the judgment and deliberates on the relationship between fact, law, popular rhetoric and proportionality therein.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court examines disability as a ground for the grant of bail, as distinct from \u201cmedical grounds\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2013:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2013, \u201crespect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy and independence of persons\u201d and \u201caccessibility\u201d.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Section 2(s) of the Act defines a person with disability as \u201ca person with long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with barriers, hinders his full and effective participation in society equally with others.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In conditions of custody, such persons must be protected from any hindrance to the exercise of bodily integrity and autonomy with dignity \u2014 this lies at the core of his right to privacy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unavailability of such a guarantee within custodial facilities entitles the prisoner with disabilities to bail.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b> Right to privacy:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right to privacy judgment asserts privacy \u201cas an integral part of the right to human dignity is comprehended within the protection of life as well.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is necessary for every court to develop a sensibility towards and understanding of what constitutes human dignity and protection of life for persons located differently in social order.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What are the various features of Right to Privacy?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Privacy is a constitutionally protected right emerging primarily from the guarantee of life and liberty in Article 21 of the Constitution.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It includes the preservation of personal intimacies, sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Privacy connotes a right to be left alone. It safeguards individual autonomy and recognizes one\u2019s ability to control vital aspects of his\/her life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Privacy is not an absolute right, but any invasion must be based on legality, need and proportionality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Informational privacy is a facet of this right. Dangers to this can originate from both state and non-state actors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Right to privacy is an absolute right or not?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court ruled that Privacy is not an absolute right.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government can introduced a law which \u201cintrudes\u201d into privacy for public and legitimate state reasons.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But an individual can challenge this law in any of the constitutional courts of the land for violation of his\/her fundamental right to privacy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many grounds on which government can impose restrictions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What are the various grounds on which restrictions can be imposed?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right to privacy can be restricted by procedure established by law and this procedure would have to be just, fair and reasonable.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the right to privacy on the following grounds:<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The security of the State.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Friendly relations with foreign State.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public order, decency or morality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence; (Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, 1950).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right to privacy can be restricted if there is an important countervailing interest which is superior to it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right to privacy can be restricted if there is a compelling state interest to be served.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The protection available under the right to privacy may not be available to a person who voluntarily introduces him- or herself into controversy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What are the constitutional provisions dealing with privacy?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Article 21<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Constitution of India does not specifically guarantee a \u201cright to privacy\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Article 21 of the Constitution of India states that \u201cNo person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Article 21 interprets that the term \u2018life\u2019 includes all those aspects of life which go to make a man\u2019s life meaningful, complete and worth living.<\/span><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Right to privacy as Right to life\u00a0 Context: It is important for the courts to examine disability as a ground for the grant of bail Introduction: In the Supreme Court\u2019s right to privacy judgment (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India), Justice D.Y.Chandrachud held \u201cLife and personal liberty are inalienable to human existence. The human&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/right-to-privacy-as-right-to-life\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Right to privacy as Right to life\u00a0<\/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":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":93,"cached_at":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34116","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=34116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}