India’s shield of privacy should reflect Article 21
The monsoon session of Indian Parliament will likely take up a bill framed in response to the Supreme Court ruling of 24 August 2017 that said privacy is a fundamental right. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, a draft of which was published last year to replace an unwieldy earlier proposal, got Cabinet approval this week as part of the Centre’s effort to update Indian laws for the digital age.
A shield for our personal data was dearly needed; think of the online heist pulled off by data hoarders before the EU and others tightened rules. If New Delhi enacts its proposed law, digital players must take our point-wise consent for data, explain its storage and/or use, let us wipe our files clean, disclose data leaks and act responsibly in other ways—or risk steep fines.
In the okayed version, the facility of ‘deemed consent’ may have been tweaked and relief offered to global operators on data held abroad, but the rest is largely expected to be what was released in 2022 for public comment. If so, then the private sector that’ll be regulated by it has reason to worry about the autonomy of a proposed data board for dispute resolution; a statutory body that stands apart from the day’s government would’ve signalled neutrality.
Yet, a reset of the platform-user equation under regulatory oversight isn’t the be-all and end-all of it, even if that’s where this law seems headed. Nearly six years ago, India’s apex court held privacy as a basic right in consonance with Article 21 of the Constitution on ‘Protection of Life and Personal Liberty’, by which nobody can be deprived of either, except in accordance with a process of law.
Basic rights hold value only if upheld against all forces, the state included. To minimize the
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