This article was originally published on The Wire. The judges may still be able to articulate the manner in which limits for a right to privacy may be arrived at, without explicitly specifying them. Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote in his book, Philosophical Investigations, that things which we expect to be connected by one essential common feature, […]
Category: Opinion Pieces
Privacy is not a unidimensional concept
This article was originally published in The Economic Times. Right to privacy is important not only for our negotiations with the information age but also to counter the transgressions of a welfare state. A robust right to privacy is essential for all citizens in India to defend their individual autonomy in the face of invasive […]
Aadhaar case: beyond privacy, an issue of bodily integrity
This article was co-written with Aradhya Sethia, and originally published on The Quint. The insertion of Section 139AA in the Income Tax Act has been challenged and is being heard by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court. The Finance Act, 2017, among its various sweeping changes, also inserted a new provision into the Section […]
Privacy in the age of big data
This article was originally published in The Asian Age. Personal data is freely accessible, shared and even sold, and those to whom this information belongs have little control over its flow. In 2011 it was estimated that the quantity of data produced globally surpassed 1.8 zettabyte. By 2013, it had increased to 4 zettabytes. This […]
Can the judiciary upturn the Lok Sabha speaker’s decision on Aadhaar?
This article was originally published on The Wire. When ruling on the petition filed by Jairam Ramesh challenging passing the Aadhaar Act as a money Bill, the court has differing precedents to look at. In an earlier article, I had argued that the characterisation of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and […]
The Aadhaar Act is not a money bill
This article was originally published on The Wire. While the authority of the Lok Sabha Speaker is final and binding, Jairam Ramesh’s writ petition may allow the Supreme Court to question an incorrect application of substantive principles. Since its introduction as a money bill in the Lok Sabha in the first week of March, the […]
What Whatsapp’s new encryption policy means for India
This article was originally published on Catch News. In the last few days, a suggestion circulating in news reports and social media has been that Whatsapp’s new end-to-end encryption policy might have made unwittingly made the popular mobile application illegal in India. In this article, I dispel this notion and try to view this development […]
