Privacy is a fundamental right: K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India

What the case was about

In the petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme, the Government argued that the Constitution has no fundamental right to privacy. It relied on M.P. Sharma (1954, eight judges) and Kharak Singh (1962, six judges). So the question went to a bench of nine judges.

What the Court held

• The right to privacy is part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, and is also linked to the other freedoms in Part III.
• M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh were overruled to that extent.
• Privacy is not absolute. The State can limit it, provided there is a law, a legitimate aim and a proportionate measure.

What it led to

The judgment became the foundation for several later decisions, such as Navtej Singh Johar (2018), which decriminalised consensual same-sex relations.