Right to privacy: Four non-BJP states oppose Centre's stand

Besides Karnataka and West Bengal, two Congress-led states of Punjab and Puducherry took a stand opposite to the Central government which had said that Right to Privacy is a common law right

New Delhi, July 26: Four non-BJP ruled states, including Karnataka and West Bengal, on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking to intervene in the ongoing hearing on the issue of whether the Right to Privacy can be declared as one of the Fundamental Rights under the Constitution.

Besides Karnataka and West Bengal, two Congress-led states of Punjab and Puducherry took a stand opposite to the Central government which had said that Right to Privacy is a common law right and not a Fundamental Right.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the four states, initiated his arguments before a nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar and said that in the light of technological advancement, the court is needed to take a fresh look on the Right to Privacy and its contours in the modern day.

"Privacy cannot be an absolute right. But it is a Fundamental Right. This court needs to strike a balance," he submitted before the bench also comprising Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde, R K Agrawal, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Abhay Manohar Sapre, D Y Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer.

The hearing is in progress.

The apex court had on July 18 set up the Constitution bench after the matter was referred to a larger bench by a five-judge bench.

The petitioners had claimed that collection and sharing of biometric information, as required under the Aadhaar scheme, was a breach of the "fundamental" right to privacy.

The right to Privacy cannot fall in the bracket of fundamental rights, the Centre had on July 19 submitted in the apex court, as there are binding decisions of larger benches that it is only a common law right evolved through judicial pronouncements.

PTI