- a.It is a statutory right granted by the Parliament of India.
- b.It is not recognized under the Constitution of India.
- c.It is a fundamental right confirmed by the Supreme Court of India.
- d.None of the above
Answer: (C) It is a fundamental right confirmed by the Supreme Court of India.
In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (24 August 2017) a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right, part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and of the freedoms in Part III. It overruled M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962) to the extent that they had denied such a right, so option B states the old position. Any restriction must satisfy the tests of legality, legitimate aim and proportionality. It is not merely statutory (A): the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 regulates data protection, but the right itself flows from the Constitution. Other rights read into Article 21 include livelihood, a clean environment, speedy trial and legal aid.