Understanding the ‘Elitist’ Argument against the Fundamental Right to Privacy

The unanimous Right to Privacy judgment of the nine judges’ bench of the Supreme Court delivered on 24th August, 2017 has been widely heralded as the dawn of a new era in the constitutional jurisprudence of India. It has now been dissected in the several articles published in the newspapers and news web portals in great detail. The judgment is very significant because a very important negative fundamental right primarily stemming from the fundamental right to life and personal liberty provided...

Nation's New Hero: The CBI Judge Who Did Dera Chief In

Amidst all tension and loathing that surrounded the conviction and sentencing of self-proclaimed godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the nation found a new hero.Jagdeep Singh, the CBI judge who found the Dera chief guilty of raping two sadhavis and sent him behind bars for 20 years, has become a shining example of justice unfazed by pressure from various quarters.Known for his toughness...

The Supreme Court’s Right to Privacy Judgment – I: Foundations By Gautam Bhatia

On the 24th of August, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India, unanimously affirming that the right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution. The verdict brought to an end a constitutional battle that had begun almost exactly two years ago, on August 11, 2015, when the Attorney-General for India had stood up during the challenge to the Aadhaar Scheme, and declared that the Constitution did not guarantee...

Kerala HC Dismisses Actor Dileep’s Bail Plea In Actress Molestation Again [Read Order]

Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed the second bail application filed by actor Dileep in the actress molestation case.Dileep has been under custody since 10.07.2017, after he was arrested on conspiracy charges for committing abduction and sexual assault on another leading actress. His earlier bail application was rejected by the Kerala High Court on July 24.The prosecution claimed...

Justice AS Oka: A Judge Who Gives Weightage To Civil Liberties Over Powers Of State

Justice AS Oka of the Bombay High Court became the centre of news last week after the Maharashtra government adopted some lowly tactics to prevent a matter concerning noise pollution being considered by the bench headed by him. Justice Oka was part of the bench that had held in August 2016 that area within 100-m radius from hospitals, educational institutions and courts would constitute ‘silent zones’. This had resulted in closure and shifting of several Ganesh mandals during Ganesh Chaturthi...

The Right To Privacy In Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Supreme Court of India by a 9-Judge bench has delivered a landmark judgment in “Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd.) and another v. Union of India and others” [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 494 of 2012] on 24th August 2017, where it was held that the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution of India (hereinafter referred as “privacy judgment”).The judges were of...

Delhi HC Upholds CIC Order, Says IB Liable To Share Report On Whistleblower IFS Officer [Read Judgment]

In a major relief to whistleblower IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, the Delhi High Court has upheld the order of the Central Information Commission directing the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests to share with him a copy of the IB report on his harassment and implication in various cases for pointing out corrupt practices during his tenure as forest officer...

CBI Judge To Be Flown To Rohtak Jail For Hearing On Sentence To Dera Chief [Read Notification]

The CBI judge will be flown to Rohtak district prison in Sunaria for Monday's hearing on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been held guilty of raping two sadhavis 15 years ago.The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a notification, notifying the district jail as the place of sitting for the CBI judge for the...

The Day When A Chief Justice Undermined Independence Of Judiciary

I was in the Bombay High Court yesterday, where I witnessed a shocking incident. I share this here because at the centre of this is Chief Justice Manjula Chellur. And it happened on a day when the Supreme Court stood up for the citizens.A matter pertaining to noise pollution during festivals (like Ganpati Chaturthi) was being heard by a bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla. The matter has been heard by Justice Oka since 2016 and he was continuing as per roster and orders of the...

Assets Of Dera Sacha Sauda To Be Attached If Its Members Are Found To Be Responsible For Violence: Punjab&Haryana HC [Read Order]

The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is closely monitoring the violent situation which has engulfed the State following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.Large mob gatherings had assembled in Panchkula, as the CBI Court there was set to pronounce its judgment in the rape case alleged against Ram Rahim Singh. Pre-empting violent reaction from the mob claiming to...

MP HC Warns Judicial Officers Against Sharing Vulgar, Obscene Videos On FB, WhatsApp, Etc [Read Memo]

The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s administration has warned of disciplinary action against judicial officers of subordinate judiciary if they are found indulge in sharing any vulgar, obscene videos, photographs, etc. on social networking sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.The administration has taken note of the fact that some judicial officers “indulge in posting of objectionable,...

Privacy Judgment: Whether Aadhaar Be Made Compulsory Doubtful, Writes Justice KT Thomas

The current judgment is only laying down a very important guideline for considering the future cases—to be decided on the merits of each subject. For example, can what is needed for Aadhaar be made compulsory? In the light of this judgment, it is doubtful whether it can be made compulsory. But then those who are not opting for Aadhaar will have to suffer in certain instancesThe different judgments delivered by the Supreme Court Bench of nine judges finally arrived at a conclusion that the...