Leave me alone

Jasmine Singh

The Oxford dictionary defines privacy as a state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people,; now, the word finds an approval from the Supreme Court, which, in a verdict on Thursday, passed the ‘right to privacy’ as a fundamental right.

Chief Justice JS Khehar said the ‘right to privacy’ is intrinsic to the ‘right to life’ and is hence a part of Article 21, Part 3, of the Constitution of India. The verdict, though slightly ambiguous in nature, has got thumbs-up from the film fraternity, politicians and from the general public. In a country like ours, where the next-door- aunty keeps a tab on your coming and going out timings, where paparazzi chase celebrities to death, where one can draw hints about your private life from the social media...declaring ‘right to privacy’ as a fundamental right is a praiseworthy step. What needs to be seen now is how it safeguards privacy!

Private life

“Privacy is part of our liberty, part of freedom, which must be respected; it helps people make better decisions and safeguard our family,” shares filmmaker Amit Prasher, who reminds us of the one-line answer that actors and actresses have in response to whom are they dating or if they were seen with someone – ‘It’s my personal life’. “No one has any right to question them or print their personal pictures on social networking sites,” he adds.

Amit has raised a valid concern but with celebrities willing to share their personal pictures on social networking sites, it is all a bit chaotic. “Celebrities want to share their pictures all the time and then they want to guard their privacy fiercely,” says Mandy M, singer-actor. Mandy is also of the opinion that the verdict might curtail the loose talk that people do about celebrities on social media; morphing pictures, writing about their personal choices.

Right choice

One of the key conclusions of the judgement is that privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacy, the sanctity of family life, marriage, home, procreation and sexual orientation. Privacy also connotes right to be left alone. Dhananjay Mangalmukhi, first transgender student at Panjab University, draws our attention to this point. “It is my business what I do in my bedroom; whom I stay with, what I wear, is my right. Tomorrow, they can even install cameras in washrooms, which will be total violation of privacy.”

Vivek Trivedi, Chandigarh-based social worker, however, has his concerns. “We already have six fundamental rights that are violated on a daily basis. Right to privacy will only hold some value if there is a law backing it, which will allow prosecution, otherwise this will be another fundamental right with exceptions.”

"Privacy is part of our liberty, part of freedom, which must be respected; it helps people make better decisions and safeguard our family. "

Amit Prasher, filmmaker

"We already have six fundamental rights that are violated on a daily basis. Right to privacy will only hold some value if there is a law backing it, which will allow prosecution, otherwise this will be another fundamental right with exceptions."

Vivek Trivedi, social worker

Great verdict

"I am truly overwhelmed by the Supreme Court verdict on right to privacy and the parts of the judgement which specifically mention that sexual orientation should be a guaranteed right under the Constitution. This is a big day for the LGBTQ community in India, who have been fighting for their rights for over two decades. This verdict vindicates our appeal for equal rights as citizens of India. I feel truly happy and free."

Sridhar Rangayan, Filmmaker-activist 

jasmine@tribunemail.com