This refers to the editorial, “Yes to right to privacy” (August 25). The apex court’s verdict on the right to privacy certainly ranks as one of the most significant rulings since January 26, 1950. Thanks to the order, the right to privacy is now inalienable, paramount and inviolable. It lends a new dimension to the notion of personal liberty and marks the beginning of a new era for individual freedom. It recognises privacy as something that is at the core of human dignity. It empowers the citizens and gives them a greater sense of self-worth and confidence. We are overwhelmed by the prospect of great changes it will bring in our country to make it more humane and caring. The right to privacy may appear to be ‘amorphous’, but it inheres in almost all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
Most importantly, it redefines the relationship between the state and the citizens and keeps others out of one’s kitchen and bed room and pre-empts the emergence of a totalitarian state or a tyranny. Surveillance and invasion of privacy will be the last things to have constitutional or legal sanction. Now we don’t have to share the details of our health, marital ties, sexual orientation and proclivities, beliefs and what food we eat, what books we read and what films we watch and so on and so forth against our wish and will.