Sample Essays for SBI PO Main Exam 2018 : Right to Privacy & Aadhar

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Essay : Right to Privacy & Aadhar

"Man's house is his castle." 

Above well-known proverb is now getting legal recognition as Right to Privacy. Human beings have a natural need to autonomy or control over confidential part of their. This need is inherent in human behaviour and now this has been recognised as Fundamental Right to privacy.

Right to Privacy is not explicit in the Constitution of India, so it is a subject of judicial interpretation. The judicial interpretations of Fundamental Right bring it within the purview of Fundamental Right.

Significance of Right to Privacy

Right to privacy demands that a person has the right to be left alone.

Its significance is immense 

• for the fuller development of an individual, a citizen must have a private sphere. The narrowness or broadness of this sphere can be different for different societies. It evolves over a period of time. 
• certain activities and satisfaction derived out of those activities is inherently individualistic. State has no role to play in that. 

Aadhaar Initiative by Government of India

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established on 12th July, 2016 by the Government of India under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, under the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

The UIDAI is mandated to assign a 12-digit Unique Identification (UID) number (termed as Aadhaar) to all the residents of India. The number is linked to the resident's basic demographic and biometric information such as photograph, ten fingerprints and two iris scans, which are stored in a centralised database.

Issue Related to Aadhaar

The issue related to Government collecting personal data of citizens has two broad dimensions 

• Legal Sanctity and 
• Identity Security

Since there is no legislative backing for Aadhaar, any data collection through it is debatable. The situation becomes graver considering the extensive biometric collection it involves.

The state's data collection and storage infrastructure is not clear. There has been no assurance to the citizens about safety of their identity data being collected. In this era when intrusion in privacy is not just in physical but digital space as well, it is imperative that foolproof cyber security is put in place.

In foundation phases data maintenance and research framework of UIDAI had been outsourced to private transnational corporations. This strategy is highly questionable. 

Supreme Court on the Issue of Privacy

In the recent judgement of The Supreme Court on the issue of Privacy, the court has announced the 'Right to Privacy'as a natural inherent right enshrined in the Article 21 of the Constitution making it a part of the Fundamental Rights. 

The Supreme Court's judgement making privacy as a natural right protected by Article 21 as a part of Right to life and personal liberty has no doubt held out the free and democratic principles of the state and they can be seen as

• the state cannot snoop inside the personal domain of a person and regulate or judge his personal life and choices. 
• it gives an individual dignity to carry on with his life in the manner which he thinks is righteous. (As long as he does not cause harm to others.)
• the state or any such entity has no right to perform surveillance upon an individual without rightful cause and authority. 
• privacy of a person on the internet is also secured, in a technology intensive society. 

Conclusion

So 'Right to Privacy' is very important human right, which should not be violated. But government should be given authority to store information. But at the same time it should also be ensured that this information is not misused or shared with private parties and ensure data protection.

shared by Nisheeta Mirchandani

 

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