Justice K.S.Puttaswamy(Retd) vs Union Of India on 26 September, 2018
134) It was argued that the Constitution of India repudiates mass surveillance as enabled by
Aadhaar and the project ought to be struck down on this ground alone. There is no question of
balancing or justification in case of a surveillance architecture.
135) Passages from various judgments were quoted in an attempt to establish that surveillance
causes interference with right to privacy, life and liberty. From Kharak Singh v. State of U.P. 61,
dissenting opinion of Subba Rao, J. (which has been upheld in K.S. Puttaswamy) was relied upon.
With respect to how 60 (2010) 7 SCC 263 61 (1964) 1 SCR 332 surveillance constricts right to life
and liberty, His Lordship held that:
Now let us consider the scope of Article 21. The expression "life" used in that Article
cannot be confined only to the taking away of life, i.e., causing death. In Munn v.
Illinois (1), Field, J., defined "life" in the following words:
Something more than mere animal existence. The inhibition against its deprivation
extends to all those limbs and faculties by which life is enjoyed. The provision equally
prohibits the mutilation of the body by the amputation of an arm or leg, or the
putting out of an eye, or the destruction of any other organ of the body through which
the soul communicates with the outer world. The expression "'liberty" is given a very
wide meaning in America. It takes in all the freedoms. In Bolling v. Sharpe (2), the
Supreme Court of America observed that the said expression was not confined to
mere freedom from bodily restraint and that liberty under law extended to the full
range of conduct which the individual was free to pursue. But this absolute right to
liberty was regulated to protect other social interests by the State exercising its
powers such as police power, the power of eminent domain, the power of taxation etc.
The proper exercise of the power which is called the due process of law is controlled
by the Supreme Court of America. In India the word "liberty" has been qualified by
the word "Personal", indicating thereby that it is confined only to the liberty of the
person. The other aspects of the liberty have been provided for in other Articles of the
Constitution xx xx xx It is true our Constitution does not expressly declare a right to
privacy as a fundamental right, but the said right is an essential ingredient of
personal liberty.
Every democratic country sanctifies domestic life; it is expected to give him rest, physical happiness,
peace of mind and security. In the last resort, a person's house, where he lives with his family, is his
castle; it is his rampart against encroachment on his personal liberty. The pregnant words of that
famous Judge, Frankfurter J., in Wolf v. Colorado [[1949] 238 US 25] pointing out the importance
of the security of one's privacy against arbitrary intrusion by the police, could have no less
application to an Indian home as to an American one. If physical restraints on a person's
movements affect his personal liberty, physical encroachments on his private life would affect it in a
larger degree. Indeed, nothing is more deleterious to a man's physical happiness and health than a
calculated interference with his privacy. We would, therefore, define the right of personal liberty in
Article 21 as a right of an individual to be free from restrictions or encroachments on his person,
whether those restrictions or encroachments are directly imposed or indirectly brought about by
Indian Kanoon - http://indiankanoon.org/doc/127517806/
115
اختر الفقرة المستهدفة3
الاتصال بفقرة
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
أضف إلى جدول المحتويات