Privacy, dignity, sexual autonomy

The right to privacy was a constitutionally accepted and applied right recognised by an interpretative device of the Supreme Court since 1975. Over the decades, more than 30 decisions of the apex court applied privacy as a bundle of rights that permitted liberty of thought and action.

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Project of defiance

One reason for the controversy surrounding the Aadhaar project is the pending litigation against it in the Supreme Court. The cases draw on substantive critiques, including exclusion and deprivation caused by the usage of Aadhaar in provisioning essential services such as the PDS and MGNREGA, breaches of individual privacy and threats to national and individual security in the way the project has been conceived and implemented. Such concerns are not pure policy matters but interact with constitutionally protected fundamental rights, including Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

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Teachings from a trial

Time gifts us clarity though reflection. Half a century may seem sufficient to dull passions but even today public memory of the Nanavati case continues to tilt objectivity towards emotion. A part of this can be fastened onto movie depictions that bear little responsibility for factual accuracy. However, in public discussion, there is not much distinction between the Nanavati case and the Nanavati movie (Rustom). Such a merger is unfortunate given the legacy of the case and the focus it brings to deficiencies in the legal system. 

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