Meet the warriors who fought Right to Privacy case

War veterans, social activists, techies, lawyers battle it out against the Big Brother in apex court

The right to privacy case before the nine-judge Bench is likely to be referred by the name of 92-year old retired judge K S Puttaswamy, who was the first petitioner in the case. 

But, there were several prominent and not-so-prominent names that took the fight to the government, which had, at one point, argued that individuals cannot claim absolute right even over their own bodies. There were 20 other petitions, including some special leave petitions, writs and half a dozen contempt petitions, which were clubbed with Puttaswamy’s public interest litigation (PIL). 

The judgment itself acknowledged the assistance by the senior advocates on both the sides. “We would like to record our appreciation for their able assistance in a matter of such great import as the case before us,” the judgment by the Bench led by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar said.

Among the petitioners’ lawyers mentioned in the judgment were Soli Sorabjee, Gopal Subramanium, Shyam Divan, Arvind Datar, Anand Grover, Sajan Poovayya, Meenakshi Arora, Kapil Sibal, Aishwarya Bhati and P V Surendranath.

Here are some of the people they represented:

S C N Jatar, a retired Major General and president of the Nagrik Chetna Manch (NCM), said his petition had raised the issue of biometrics and iris being susceptible to copying among others. “I understand there is no mention of biometrics in the judgment. They have ruled on the broader issue of privacy as a right. Now, our petitions will have to be heard afresh,” Jatar told Business Standard.  Pune-based NCM is a 25-year-old organisation that “largely comprises senior company executives, professionals, social workers, retired defence officers and civil servants, who do not have any political affiliation.”

Another veteran among the petitioners is Major General S G Vombatkere, Vishisht Seva Medal, retired in 1996 as additional director general (discipline & vigilance) in the Army HQ Adjutant General branch. The Mysorean is a member of the National Alliance of People’s Movements and People’s Union for Civil Liberties. Vombatkere holds a Guinness Record for designing and executing the construction of the highest bridge in the world over the formidable Khardungla Pass in 1982.

Colonel Mathew Thomas, a former head of missile manufacturing in Defence Research and Development Organisation, led the ‘Say No to UID’ campaign, challenging the scheme in the Bangalore High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

S Raju, a lawyer and the state coordinator, Human Rights Protection Centre based in Virudhachalam, a small town in Tamil Nadu, had filed his PIL, challenging the validity of Aadhaar and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as early as December 2011. In its initial response to Raju’s petition in December 2014, the UIDAI had said that enrolment for Aadhaar was purely and totally voluntary. But, after Puttaswamy moved the Supreme Court on the same issue, Raju’s case, like the other matters, was transferred and clubbed with it.

Another case which was transferred was the one filed by Vickram Crishna, a man who wears many hats. The privacy protection activist is also a technologist, a human rights activist, and has been a journalist. He is currently engaged in doctoral research related to the development of communication technologies for persons with palpable physical/sensory challenges.

Prominent activists and Ramon Magsaysay awardees such as Aruna Roy, Shanta Sinha and Bezwada Wilson were also among the petitioners. Some petitions were filed by and against the three state-owned oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, which had made mandatory for direct benefit transfer of subsidies on liquefied petroleum gas. 

The judgment also mentioned two articles by Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), a civil society group, which had contributed to the public discourse on the Aadhaar-privacy debate. In a footnote, it said: “Illustratively, the CIS has two interesting articles tracing the origin of privacy within classical Hindu law and Islamic law.”   

Following the judgment, several people in the privacy community also recognised the role of poverty with legal expert Usha Ramanathan figuring among the first to raise questions about the vulnerability of the Aadhaar platform and threats it posed.