A five-judge Constitution Bench, which met to examine if the Aadhaar Act violates a person’s right to privacy, realised that the court will have to first answer if right to privacy constitutes a fundamental right under the Constitution before it takes up the main question.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court decided Tuesday to set up a nine-judge bench to decide whether right to privacy can be declared a fundamental right under the Constitution. A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, which met to examine if the Aadhaar Act violates a person’s right to privacy, realised that the court will have to first answer if right to privacy constitutes a fundamental right under the Constitution before it takes up the main question.
After an hour-long hearing, the bench, which also included Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde, S Abdul Nazeer and D Y Chandrachud, referred the question to a nine-judge Constitution Bench. The larger bench will hear arguments on the point on Wednesday and its outcome will decide whether the five-judge bench will still have to adjudicate on the challenge to the Aadhaar Act.
The judges noted that two earlier judgements of the court — M P Sharma’s case in 1954 and Kharak Singh’s case in 1962 — had held that privacy was not a fundamental right. While the first was delivered by an eight-judge bench, the latter was decided by a six-judge bench.
“It is essential for us to determine whether there is a fundamental right to privacy in the Indian Constitution. Determination of the question would essentially entail whether the decisions in M P Sharma (case) by an eight-judge bench and Kharak Singh (case) by a six-judge bench that there is no such fundamental right is the correct expression of constitutional provisions,” the Bench recorded in its order.
Please click here to read more.