A 91-year-old retired judge challenged a fingerprint-scanning government scheme. His case ended up deciding whether privacy is a fundamental right at all. This article covers the Puttaswamy judgment, and why it still matters.
🗓️ Timeline
2012: Petition Filed
- Origin Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, a retired Karnataka High Court judge, files a petition challenging the Aadhaar scheme.
24 August 2017: Privacy Verdict
- Landmark A nine-judge Supreme Court bench unanimously rules that the right to privacy is a fundamental right.
26 September 2018: Aadhaar Verdict
- Upheld A five-judge bench upholds Aadhaar’s core validity, but strikes down mandatory bank and mobile linking.
2023: DPDP Act Enacted
- Legacy The Digital Personal Data Protection Act is enacted, built on the privacy right this case established.
✅ Must Know
The Core Holding
- 24 August 2017 On 24 August 2017, a nine-judge Supreme Court bench unanimously held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right, protected under Article 21.
The Case Name
- Formal Name The case is formally called Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs. Union of India.
Two Precedents Overruled
- Overruled The judgment overruled two earlier cases — M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962). Both had held privacy was not specifically protected by the Constitution.
Privacy as Dignity
- Scope The Court found privacy to be an attribute of human dignity. This covers personal intimacies like marriage, procreation, family, and sexual orientation.
📘 Good to Know
How the Case Began
- Aadhaar Challenge The case began as a challenge to Aadhaar, the government’s biometric identification scheme. The privacy question arose because Aadhaar collects fingerprints, iris scans, and demographic data.
The Separate Aadhaar Ruling
- 26 September 2018 On 26 September 2018, a separate five-judge bench ruled on Aadhaar itself, upholding its core validity by a 4:1 majority.
What Became Optional
- Bank/Mobile Linking That verdict made linking Aadhaar to bank accounts and mobile numbers no longer mandatory. It stayed required for filing income tax returns and getting a PAN.
The Lone Dissent
- Chandrachud Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was the sole dissenting judge in 2018, opposing the Aadhaar Act’s validity. He was also the same judge who authored a key opinion in the 2017 privacy verdict.
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🏆 Great to Know
A Constitutional Floor
- Article 21 By locating privacy within Article 21’s “life and liberty,” the Court made it something the state cannot take away by ordinary legislation. It became a constitutional floor, not a policy choice.
Legal Foundation for Later Rulings
- Downstream Effect This 2017 judgment became the legal foundation for later rulings. These include decriminalising Section 377 (2018) and recognising individual autonomy in personal choices.
Shaping Data Protection Law
- DPDP Act It also shaped India’s approach to data protection. The 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act traces its constitutional justification directly back to this case.
One Case, Wide Reach
- Scale The judgment shows how a single individual’s challenge to one government scheme can produce a constitutional principle. That principle reaches far beyond the scheme’s own facts.
📝 Previous Year Question
UPSC CSP 2024 — Right to Privacy’s Constitutional Home
- UPSC 2024 The Supreme Court’s 2017 Puttaswamy judgment placed the Right to Privacy under Article 21, as part of the right to life and personal liberty. See UPSC CSP 2024 GS Paper I, Q76.
UPSC CSP 2018 — The Same Fact, Phrased as an Implication
- UPSC 2018 Article 21, read together with the freedoms guaranteed in Part III, is what correctly and appropriately implies that the Right to Privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Asked as: “Right to Privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Which of the following in the Constitution of India correctly and appropriately imply the above statement?” (UPSC CSP 2018, GS Paper I).
UPSC CSP 2021 — Asked Directly
- UPSC 2021 The Right to Privacy is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Asked as: “‘Right to Privacy’ is protected under which Article of the Constitution of India?” (UPSC CSP 2021, GS Paper I).
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UPSC CSP 2024 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2025 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2018 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2026 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2021 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)❓ Practice this topic
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