Aadhaar presupposes privacy is fundamental right: Jaitley -Governance Now

Aadhaar presupposes privacy is fundamental right: Jaitley

“Parliament cannot abrogate its job of legislating if apex court is hearing a petition”

GN Bureau | March 16, 2016

#Aadhaar #UIDAI #arun jaitley #parliament #law #supreme court #privacy #fundamental rights

Right to privacy is one of the hotly debated issues when the matter of Aadhaar comes up. On Wednesday, initiating a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Aadhaar bill, finance minister Arun Jaitley said this legislation presumes the right to privacy is a fundamental right.

That is quite a conclusive statement from the government, though it was immediately followed by fine print which would dilute it a lot. Jaitley added that the right to privacy is part of Article 21 of the constitution – the right to life and liberty. However, as the right to life and liberty is not unrestricted, and is subject to law, the question, according to Jaitley, is only if the restrictions applied on this right to privacy in this legislation are just and fair.

He said the new bill had improved upon the UPA version and had stringent provisions to protect privacy, as it makes mandatory to have a committee’s ok for sharing a person’s biometrics and that decision can be reviewed by a committee headed by the cabinet secretary, and this sharing will be done only for one purpose – national security.

“Individual right has to give way to national security,” he said. He, however, did not respond to the argument that “national security” is a term undefined and open to interpretation or even misuse.

Meanwhile, Jaitley also defended the move to legislate on privacy when the supreme court is seized of the matter. He insisted that parliament cannot abrogate its power to legislate just because the court is hearing a petition on this matter.

Comments

Other News

Passport Verification Record now available on DigiLocker

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has announced a major enhancement to citizen services through the enablement of the Passport Verification Record (PVR) on the DigiLoc

Strengthening telecom sector for significant growth in its digital infra

The government has undertaken several measures to strengthen the telecom sector in the country which has led to the growth of telecom sector. These measures include Rationalization of Adjusted Gross Revenue; Rationalization of Bank Guarantees (BGs); Rationalization of interest rates and remo

Praja Foundation launches Citizens’ Manifesto for Maharashtra civic polls

Praja Foundation has unveiled the Citizens’ Manifesto for Maharashtra’s Municipal Elections 2025, presenting a comprehensive reform roadmap aimed at strengthening municipal governance, enhancing service delivery, and advancing transparency and citizen participation across urban local bodies.

Scindia clears the air on Sanchar Saathi app mandate

Union minister for communications and development of the Northeastern region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Tuesday clarified about the Sanchar Saathi`s mandate, emphasising that the app is completely democratic and fully voluntary. He added that users can activate the app at their convenience to access its ben

`India’s media & entertainment sector poised for historic leap`

The global Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry is on the brink of a major transformation as it marches toward 2030. International revenues are projected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2029, driven by a 3.7% CAGR between 2024 and 2029. This growth will be powered by the dominance of digital advertising,

The India we live in, the India it is

We proudly describe our nation as a land of Unity in Diversity. We have long celebrated our civilization based on plurality, where differences have been seen, not as threats but as expressions of a greater unity. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, we rejoice our innumerable languages, castes, creeds, an