Dealing a huge blow to the government’s insistence over attaching Aadhaar numbers to all and sundry services, the Supreme Court’s nine-judge bench on Thursday (August 24) ruled that the right to privacy is, after all, a fundamental right.

This was probably one of the biggest decisions by the court that will now need constitutional authorisation that Parliament has to assure.

At around 10.40 am, the Chief Justice of India, JS Khehar, addressed the assembled legal luminaries present in court and said: “We are all extremely grateful to all of you for addressing us, for the kind of research you all have done.”

Then he said: “Decision in MP Sharma stands overruled. Khatam Singh is overruled. Right to privacy is an integral part of Articles 14 and 19. Right to privacy is fundamental right. That is the final order.”

Unlike the Triple Talaq issue, there was no ambiguity in the order, or any dissention. All the nine judges – CJI Khehar, and Justices J Chelameswar, SA Bobde, RK Agrawal, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Abhay Manohar Sapre, DY Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer – were unanimous in declaring privacy as a fundamental right.

Read the full judgement here 

— India Legal Bureau

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