Privacy is a fundamental right of every Indian, rules Supreme Court under the shadow of Aadhaar debate

While the top court ruled that Right to Privacy comes under the Right to Life and Liberty, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the verdict casts its shadow on the the mandatory use of Aadhaar, the national biometric identity card which has been challenged by many as an infringement of privacy.

Aadhaar has also been cited as a potent instrument that can cause breach of individual and personal data and hence susceptible to misused by companies.

"Welcome the SC verdict upholding #RightToPrivacy as an intrinsic part of individual's liberty, freedom & dignity. A victory for every Indian," tweeted the Office of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress vice-president.  He said it is a "major blow to fascist forces".

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said "the government welcomes privacy ruling passed by the Supreme Court" and the government has accepted the principles of the judgement.

He scoffed at the Congress vice-president for calling them "fascist" without homework like always, and said cyber and data security are being taken care of.

He said Aadhaar is an international benchmark and the Government has set up a high-powered committee for Data Protection, which the Supreme Court has taken note of.

Prasad said the Supreme Court verdict also affirms the observation made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha.

The ruling on the highly contentious issue was to deal with a batch of petitions challenging the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing the benefits of various social welfare schemes.

The ruling BJP-led NDA says since Aadhar was implemented money is reaching the poor directly to their banks and no one can steal it like once "late Congress Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had said that if he sends one rupee to a beneficiary only 15 paisa reaches him."

The apex court declared 'privacy' as a fundamental right of all citizens of India and also overturned two previous judgements passed against the Right to Privacy in the years 1954 and 1962.

A nine-judge bench, led by Chief Justice JS Khehar, unanimously passed the verdict. The other judges included J Chlameswar, SA Bobde, RK Agarwal, RF Nariman, AM Sapre, DY Chandrachud, SK Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer.

However, the question on the legality of the Aadhaar Card, the biometric ID card, still persists which will be decided by a smaller bench on the basis of Thursday's judgement on Right to Privacy.

The legality of Aadhaar Card has been put to question, particularly after Thursday's judgement, as it accesses biometric details of individuals.

Already crores of Indians have acquired the cards.

The legal battle regarding Right to Privacy was initiated following the previous government's (UPA government) decision to introduce the Aadhaar Card.

As the Supreme Court came out with the judgement, opposition leaders saluted the judiciary, describing the verdict  as "path breaking and a great victory for liberty and freedom."

Congratulating the Supreme Court, former Union Finance Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram said: "Privacy is a fundamental right. The freedom that was won in 1947 has been enriched and enlarged."

He claimed that the verdict is a setback to the present Government.

"The Aadhaar we (Congress) thought is completely compatible with the Right to Privacy. Aadhaar in itself is not inconsistent with the Right to Privacy, it is the current Government's interpretation that is not correct," he said.

"Article 21 is the right to life and liberty. Any corrosion of that should be fought. Privacy is the core of personal liberty. Privacy is an inalienable part of life itself."

"Today we can once again celebrate our freedom. This verdict is a setback to the government,"  Chidambaram said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed gratitude to the judiciary and said, "Thank you SC for this very important judgement ." 

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also expressed his elation : "I have a right to privacy & it's a fundamental one," he tweeted.

Congress spokesman Randeep S Surjewala tweeted : "Path breaking & seminal judgement of Supreme Court declares 'Privacy' as fundamental right. A great victory for liberty & freedom."

"S.C rejects Modi Govt's attempt to whittle down the right to privacy as a fundamental right by AG's plea of no mention in Constitution," he said.

Congress leader and senior Supreme Court advocate Salman Khurshid  said :"Privacy Fundamental Right has far reaching implications 4 our democracy. Celebrate the defeat of forces that wish to intrude in our lives."

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the judgement passed by the Supreme Court will pave the way for securing people's rights.

Yechury tweeted to say: "We have been opposed to mandatory Aadhaar, data misuse by foreign tech corporates. This judgement will pave the way for securing our rights."