Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment declaring privacy as a fundamental right, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that the verdict will ensure the protection of citizen's privacy.
"We welcome this verdict by Honourable Supreme Court Right To Privacy is a Fundamental Right," she said in a tweet.
In a landmark decision that will affect the lives of all Indians, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that right to privacy was a Fundamental right under the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar ruled that "right to privacy is an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 and entire Part III of the Constitution".
The non-BJP ruled states -- Karnataka, West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Puducherry had argued in favour of Privacy. While senior Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal represented Karnataka, West Bengal, Punjab and Puducherry, senior advocate JS Attri appeared for Himachal Pradesh and advocate PV Surendra Nath represented Kerala.
The central government, along with the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and UIDAI, had opposed the petitioner’s stance that privacy is a fundamental right. The Centre was represented by Attorney General KK Venugopal. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for UIDAI and Madhya Pradesh. Senior Advocate Aryama Sundaram appeared for Maharashtra, while Gujarat was represented Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi. Advocate Arghya Sengupta represented Haryana.
The case was heard for six days by the Bench before it reserved its judgment on August 2.
