FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN

DIGITAL AGE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE

IMPACT OF JUDGEMENT OF JUSTICE
K.S.PUTTASWAMY IN CYBER CRIMES

*DR. GAGANDEEP KAUR

**KAMAKSHI JOSHI
 INTRODUCTION

IN INDIA, THE JUDGEMENT OF JUSTICE K S PUTTASWAMY

(RETD.) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA DELIVERED ON 24 AUGUST
2017 BY NINE-JUDGE SUPREME COURT BENCH HAS MADE A
HISTORIC DAY AS IT HAS CROWNED INDIAN CONSTITUTION
WITH ANOTHER JEWEL NAMELY: ‘FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO
PRIVACY’.
THE PRESENT UNIVERSE IS SURROUNDED BY THE
POWER OR NEW MANTRA NAMELY ‘INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY’.
 ‘RIGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE’: MEANING OF RIGHT
TO PRIVACY

PRIVACY IN ITS SIMPLEST SENSE, ALLOWS EACH HUMAN BEING ‘TO BE

LEFT ALONE’ IN A CORE WHICH IS INVIOLABLE .
HERE PRIVACY IS BEING ANALYSED IN THE CONTEXT OF FREE FLOW
OF INFORMATION ON INTERNET.
 PHILOSOPHICAL OVERVIEW ON PRIVACY IN
PHYSICAL WORLDS VS. CYBER WORLD.

1) THE INCREASE IN DATA CREATION AND THE RESULTING COLLECTION

OF VAST AMOUNTS OF PERSONAL DATA CAUSED BY THE RECORDING OF
ALMOST EVERY MODERM INTERACTION;

2) THE GLOBALISATION OF THE DATA MARKET AND THE ABILITY OF

ANYONE TO COLLATE AND EXAMINE THIS DATA;

3) LACK OF THE TYPE OF CONTROL MECHANISMS FOR DIGITAL DATA.

- HIGHLIGHTED BY JERRY BERMAN AND DIERDRE MULLIGAN
EMERGING TRENDS OF CYBER CRIME IN DIGITAL
AGE

CYBERCRIME CONSISTS OF UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO DATA AND

DATA ALTERATION, DATA DESTRUCTION, THEFT OF FUNDS OR
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
1) CYBER STALKING
2) VISHING
3) WEBSITE DEFACEMENT
4) COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
 AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF JUSTICE
K.S.PUTTASWAMY JUDGEMENT IN CYBER
CRIMES:

1) CLARITY ON THE PHASE “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS”.

2) ACKNOWLEDMENT OF CONTROL OVER DISSEMINATION.
3) VIEWING WEB-PAGE DOES NOT MEAN STRANGERS’ ENTRY.
4) PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY AND LEGITIMANY
5) RELEVANCE OF ‘CONSENT’ IN CYBER WORLD.
6) RECOGNITION OF CYBER TORTS ACTIVITIES.
7) PRESERVATION IN THE NORM AND FORGETTING A STRUGGLE :
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
 CONCLUSION

1) ON THE BASIS OF ANALYSIS OF THIS JUDGEMENT, IT IS SUBMITTED THAT

THIS DECISION HAS RESOLVED TREMENDOOUS PROBLEMS EXISTING IN
LEGAL DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ONLINE.

2) PRIOR TO THIS DECISION, THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT 2000 AS

AMENDED IN 2008 HAS ADDED SEVERAL PROVISIONS FOR DATA
PROTECTION AND IMPOSED RESPONSIBILTY ON THE BODY CORPORATE FOR
PRESERVATION OF DATA

3) HOWEVER, THIS DECISION HAS PROVIDED A FERTILE PLATFORM FOR THE

ENACTMENT OF NEW DATA POLICY IN INDIA.
THANK YOU!