KARTHICK THEODRE Vs. ADDL.REGISTRAR GENERAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present case has raised an important question as to whether an accused person who on being charged for committing an offence and having undergone trial and ultimately been acquitted of all charges by a Court of competent jurisdiction, has the right to seek for destruction or erasure or redaction of their personal information from the public domain. The other important question that arises for consideration is if such a right is traceable to Art.21 of the Constitution of India ("the Constitution"?) as a right to privacy which is an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty, and hence an enforceable right as held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in K.S.Puttaswamy and Another vs. Union of India Others reported in (2017) 10 SCC 1, and whether in light of the same, this Court can set out guidelines in exercise of its jurisdiction under Art.226 of the Constitution?

(2.) The background of this case has been set out in the earlier Order passed by this Court on 16/7/2021 and it will be beneficial to extract the same hereunder:

(3.) The above order was circulated widely to all the Advocate Associations and Bar Associations and many advocates positively responded to the call made by this Court resulting in a five hour "marathon"?hearing on 28/7/2021. Submissions were made from various perspectives and the effective submissions that emanated from a vibrant bar made it an enriching experience. This Court with all humility must acknowledge the fact that if not for the assistance of the members of the Bar, this Court could not have gained insight into the various facets of this issue to come to a fair conclusion.