NEW DELHI:The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that citizens don’t have the fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution during a hearing on petitions against the Aadhaar scheme linked to government initiatives.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said, “An eight-judge bench and later a six-judge bench in two separate cases held that privacy was not a fundamental right, but in nearly 25 judgments subsequently by smaller benches, privacy came to be recognised and cemented as part of the fundamental rights under Article 21.” “Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under our Constitution. It flows from one right to another. Constitution makers did not intend to make right to privacy fundamental. So these petitions under Article 32 should be dismissed,” the AG said. He was countering the contention that the Aadhaar scheme, based on collecting personal data, violates citizens’ right to privacy. “What is the contour and interplay of various rights required to be ascertained,” he said, adding “Right to privacy is not absolute and is subject to restrictions.”