Privacy as Fundamental right:The Case of Indian AAdhar

In August 2017; unanimous judgment by the Supreme Court of India (SCI) i was a resounding victory for privacy. The ruling was the outcome of a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Indian biometric identity scheme Aadhaar. The one-page order signed by all nine judges declares. “The right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.” Privacy is a key concerns today in the emerging digital market of India. The vision of Digital Indian can only flourish if there is trust in the community. Aadhaar a unique biometric form of identification backed by a 12-digit random number is going to be a digital Identity for 1.14 Billion residents of India. However, there is a skepticism that this welfare project could turn into a surveillance and Data-mining tool. Looking into EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), where the main goal of the regulation is to build and/or increase trust in the EU citizens in using digital services. Similarly, a clear well defined privacy regulations needs to be in place in India with heavy fines failing to comply.