35
III.
BECAUSE the chilling effect caused by surveillance in
general was explained by Justice Subba Rao in his
dissenting judgment in Kharak Singh v State of UP
[subsequently approved in
Puttaswamy (Privacy)].
Recognising that it is impossible to show actual, tangible
harm in the case of surveillance, Justice Subba Rao noted:
“The freedom of movement in clause (d) therefore must
be a movement in a free country, i.e., in a country where
he can do whatever he likes, speak to whomsoever he
wants, meet people of his own choice without any
apprehension, subject of course to the law of social
control. The petitioner under the shadow of surveillance
is certainly deprived of this freedom. He can move
physically, but he cannot do so freely, for all his
activities are watched and noted. The shroud of
surveillance
cast
upon
him
perforce
engender
inhibitions in him and he cannot act freely as he would
like to do. We would, therefore, hold that the entire
Regulation 236 offends also Art. 19(1)(d) of the
Constitution.”
IV.
BECAUSE this doctrine is well-accepted across the
world. In NAACP v Alabama (357) US 449 (1958) the
Supreme Court of the United States famously struck down
compelled disclosure of the membership lists of a civil
rights organisation (the NAACP), noting that the
knowledge of surveillance would force politically
unpopular or dissident individuals and groups into selfcensorship.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents