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Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Indian Supreme Court

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Re: Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Indian Supreme Court

#11
I'll wait for the full text of the judgements before celebrating. The ruling apparently consists of 6 judgements and should be available shortly. Hope this reins in the Aadhaar monster without leaving any wiggle room for the government to exploit.

edit: The judgement is now available here: http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/pdf/LU/ALL%20WP(C)%20No.49...

Re: Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Indian Supreme Court

#12

Here's what the Attorney General - the government counsel - argued > He said that in developing countries, something as amorphous as privacy could not be a fundamental right, that other fundamental rights such as food, clothing, shelter etc. override the right to privacy. It's a question which has alway bothered me. What happens when two fundamental rights clash with each other?

I assume the counter-argument would be that a way should be found to provide food, clothing, shelter, etc., without violating privacy.

The implication seems to be that it's the collection of personal information in excess of that needed to perform the function appropriately - why do you need iris scans and fingerprints, when a name and a photo would arguably be sufficient?

Re: Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Indian Supreme Court

#16
post #9

As an aside, this is a decent example of why some people oppose bills of rights. As I understand it, the argument is that a bill of rights is considered exhaustive; if it's not in the bill, it's not protected. By contrast, countries without a bill of rights are free to interpret their constitutions through implied rights, in ways that make sense in the context and allow the constitution to adapt to new or developing…

At least in the U.S., that is not the real issue. Nobody disputes that the Bill of Rights is not exhaustive. But just because the Bill of Rights is not exhaustive does not mean that the Supreme Court may make up new rights over time. Legal conservatives in the U.S. adhere to the idea that for a right to exist, society must have recognized it as a right at the time the Constitution was written. In other words, you do not have to find the right in the Bill of Rights, but you do have to find it somewhere.

Re: Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Indian Supreme Court

#19

Here's what the Attorney General - the government counsel - argued > He said that in developing countries, something as amorphous as privacy could not be a fundamental right, that other fundamental rights such as food, clothing, shelter etc. override the right to privacy. It's a question which has alway bothered me. What happens when two fundamental rights clash with each other?

IMO, this is a specious argument, especially in the Indian context. Access to food, clothing, and shelter are NOT fundamental rights[0].

On the other hand, the Aadhaar program (which is the context the above argument was made for) can be viewed as impinging on the fundamental "Right to Constitutional Remedies" as its governing body the UIDAI is set up in such a way that the UIDAI itself has sole authority on whether or not a grievance needs the intervention of the established judicial system[1].

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Rights,_Directive_...

[1]http://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/the-uidai-has-in...

Re: Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, Says Indian Supreme Court

#20
post #12

Here's what the Attorney General - the government counsel - argued > He said that in developing countries, something as amorphous as privacy could not be a fundamental right, that other fundamental rights such as food, clothing, shelter etc. override the right to privacy. It's a question which has alway bothered me. What happens when two fundamental rights clash with each other?

I assume the counter-argument would be that a way should be found to provide food, clothing, shelter, etc., without violating privacy. The implication seems to be that it's the collection of personal information in excess of that needed to perform the function appropriately - why do you need iris scans and fingerprints, when a name and a photo would arguably be sufficient?

How can you provide food/clothing shelter without violating privacy ? The person has to identify that he is needing assistance from the state for the state to be able to provide. The state needs iris/fingerprint because that is the only way for them to check your claim of who you are and you do not already have the means to access food/shelter by yourself.
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