Why privacy must be a fundamental right

Supreme Court must not only seize the concerns of today but also gaze into the future

About 30 years ago there was an oleum gas leak in Delhi from the factory of Shriram Foods and Fertiliser Industries. The noxious gas affected a large number of persons, and resulted in one death. Coming shortly after the Bhopal gas leak tragedy, the Supreme Court started on a path of judicial innovation to craft constitutional doctrines which would safeguard human life and the environment. In time the court permitted representative actions when it treated postcards and letters as petitions and created substantive principles, such as “polluter pays”. The court will now be required to rule on the right to