Right to life and liberty

The topic which I have chosen for this blog is one of the very essential fundamental rights of the citizens enshrined in the constitution of India. The citizens of the country are generally unaware of their fundamental rights which have led to their massive exploitation, especially among the uneducated and the oppressed classes of the society. I would like to draw the attention of the readers towards Article- 21, stated in Part- III, of our constitution which guarantees the citizens' right to life and personal liberty. Every individual has the right to live their lives in whatever way they wish without any interference. However, there are certain restrictions upon every right and I would shed light upon them later in the blog. This very citizen's fundamental right is essential as it cannot be suspended even at the time of emergency.

Another significant point which I would like to stress upon is the right to privacy of an

individual. The privacy of an individual is mainly related to three aspects: Intrusion into

one’s physical body, the privacy of choice, and the informational privacy of an individual. With the rising technological advancements in the world and heavy dependence on technology, the third aspect of informational privacy is very important and every citizen should be aware of it. In this tech-savvy world, gadgets and electronic media have become an inevitable part of our life. This makes us more susceptible to crimes that occur on the web. It has also led to a completely new generation of crimes called the cyber-crimes. Thus, it is important to safeguard the right of an individual in relation to the dissemination of his/her personal information.

The issue arose as the tech-savvy authorized right to privacy of individuals is not specifically stated in the constitution, but in some of the landmark supreme court judgments, the apex court held that it is a part of the right to life and personal liberty of the individual. It was held that privacy has always been a natural right and is more or less a pre-requisite for the enjoyment of any fundamental rights guaranteed in Part-III. Privacy as a right of every individual guarantees the citizens to exercise control over their personality. The cases of telephone tapping and retrieving personal chats of an individual or group of individuals have been considered under this very ambit. The apex court has stated that any such intrusion without a reasonable expectation of harm is a clear violation of the right to privacy. Even, the access to such personal information of an individual has to be done in an authorised manner. The court held that the right to privacy of an individual cannot be taken away by the state except in cases of public emergency or state security. Even if such a situation arises, there has to be a real concern behind it and not merely speculative or imaginary in nature. The right cannot be abridged without a just, fair and reasonable law. Citizens are not aware of the intricacies behind the rights guaranteed to them and are befooled and exploited as a result of it. Thus, it is essential

to create awareness in this context and as citizens, we should uphold the rights guaranteed to us by the constitution of India.