Avdesh Kaushal hails apex court ruling on right to privacy

Noted rights activist Avdhash Kaushal today welcomed the Supreme Court verdict upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right and said it was a step in the right direction.
"Individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the constitution. The Supreme Court's ruling is a welcome step and in the right direction," Kaushal said in a statement here.
On whether or not the judgement will have an effect on the central government's Aadhaar scheme which has made linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts, PAN etc mandatory, the Padma Shree awardee said the unique biometric identity system was "not foolproof".

"Aadhar cards do not remain 100 per cent accurate all the time. It is a fact that over a long period of time, with age, the finger prints tend to change. This is a huge problem for all senior citizens. I have experienced it personally, " Kaushal, an octogenarian, said.
"The same problem is being faced by poor people who do manual jobs for a living. Forest dwelling communities such as 'van gujjars' have also reported harassment by bank officials and mobile operating companies for the same reason of finger print mismatch due to the nature of their work," he said.

In a landmark decision, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court today unanimously held that right to privacy was a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.