Supreme Court Ruling on Right to Privacy

The question asks about the specific Supreme Court case from 2017 that recognized the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right under the Indian Constitution.

Understanding the Right to Privacy Case

The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark decision in 2017, unanimously declared that the Right to Privacy is a fundamental right protected under the Constitution of India.

This pivotal judgment came in the case of:

• K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. vs. Union of India and Ors.

This case involved a challenge to the government's Aadhaar identification scheme, but the court broadened the scope to examine the fundamental nature of the Right to Privacy.

Analysis of the Case: Puttaswamy vs. Union of India

Key aspects of the Puttaswamy judgment:

• A nine-judge bench unanimously held that the Right to Privacy is intrinsic to the Right to Life and Personal Liberty (guaranteed under Article 21) and freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.
• The court ruled that privacy is a constitutionally protected right, although not absolute, and subject to reasonable restrictions.
• This decision affirmed that privacy is an essential component of human dignity.

Evaluating Other Options

Let's look at why the other cases mentioned are not the correct answer for the 2017 Right to Privacy ruling:

• Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India (2015): This case primarily dealt with the constitutionality of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, striking it down for violating the freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)(a)). It did not directly establish the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right in 2017.
• Indira Sawhney vs. Union of India (1992): Popularly known as the Mandal Commission case, this judgment dealt with reservations in public employment and upheld the concept of "creamy layer" exclusion. It did not concern the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right established in 2017.
• Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India (2018): While this case significantly impacted fundamental rights by decriminalizing consensual same-sex relations under Section 377 of the IPC, it came after the 2017 privacy judgment and focused specifically on LGBTQ+ rights and Article 14, 15, 19, and 21. The Right to Privacy was already established in the Puttaswamy case in 2017.

Therefore, the Puttaswamy vs. Union of India case is the landmark 2017 judgment where the Supreme Court upheld the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right.