PRIVACY & HUMAN RIGHTS

Human beings had been struggling to attain eternal peace and create a heaven on earth, where every human being can enjoy his freedom without any interference from any corners whereby he can gain the material, spiritual and intellectual fulfillment. It is very difficult to give precise meaning of privacy because it varies from society to society but its importance and need in any society cannot be ignored. It is necessary and essential to preserve and protect the dignity of the individual. Under the common law systems, the whole evolution of law of torts incorporates nothing but this right to privacy. Assault and battery, defamation talk about the privacy of person; trespass, conversion and nuisance talk about the privacy of property or home that is to say that nothing can be done without the consent of the person which is unreasonable against the person or property of an individual. The law of contract which centres  around  the ‘consent’ as the essential ingredients is nothing but the recognition of the privacy of a person. The family law and criminal laws also centre around the privacy element as no encroachment is allowed in the private relationship and the privacy of home, which is considered to be the castle for an individual wherein the individual can enjoy the life as he feels best, of course, keeping in view the reasonableness of his actions. Within the permissible limit he is the master of his destiny, his life and property and the purpose of law is nothing but to protect and foster the privacy in all its manifestations. Even the copyright and intellectual property right laws are nothing but the recognition of the right to privacy of a person, so that he can enjoy the fruits of his labour and no other person can encash the crop sown by him without his permission.

The Right to privacy is not expressly provided under the Indian Constitution though it exists as a necessary corollary to the expressed provisions therein. In India though there has been recognition from the judiciary to make right to privacy a fundamental right and a demand has also been made to enact the required legislation, there has been no law till today to govern the right to privacy. Nearly every country in the world recognizes a right of privacy explicitly in their constitution. At a minimum, these provisions include rights of inviolability of the home and secrecy of communications.  The protection of right to privacy becomes an  important issue in India because it being a democratic country, individual freedom holds primary importance. Right to privacy being an integral part of one’s right to life and personal liberty has to be given due importance. It is also important to note that India is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International covenant on civil and political Rights, both of which recognize right to privacy as a fundamental human right. Thus it is time for Indian Legislators to frame a comprehensive legislation recognizing and protecting people’s right to privacy. Not only that, it is also the job of Legislature and the judiciary to provide for a broad but well-defined scope of  the right to privacy. The norms of privacy should be determined and measured to a usual standard because a right without description is a right without protection. The uncertainty about the constitutional basis of privacy and its protection should be removed immediately as ‘ The right to be alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom.’

 Dr  Ramesh  kumar

  Associate professor      

School of Law, JEMTEC,  Gr. Noida