Meet 92-year-old Justice KS Puttuswamy, the ex-judge who was the first petitioner for 'right to privacy'

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution and is an integral part of the right to life and liberty. The ruling by a nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar ruled that,

"Right to privacy is an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 and entire Part III of the Constitution."

Read more: Right to privacy a fundamental right: SC

The man behind this landmark decision is Justice KS Puttuswamy, who is a retired judge at the Karnataka High Court. Puttuswamy initially made this challenge against the Government of India in 2012 when he filed a petition over making Aadhar a compulsion. Over these years, there were 20 more cases that were attached along with the original one, challenging the same.

Puttuswamy, after having discussed this with his associates and friends, realised that it is unfair for the citizens of the country and the executive action just was not an appropriate decision. He was also doubtful about the legitimacy of the decision as the law was not presented and discussed in the parliament before it was passed.

When The News Minute spoke with Puttuswamy and asked him the primary intention behind the petition, he said,

"The government of India demanded that citizens give details of their retina and fingerprints to a private company which was collecting Aadhaar details. Why should a person reveal such private things about his or her person to a private company? This was a breach of privacy and someone had to fight it."

According to Indian Express, Puttuswamy, a resident of South Bengaluru said,

"I was expecting a fair-minded judgment when the arguments were on, particularly because attorney general K K Venugopal first argued that the right to privacy was not a fundamental right but then came around to the point that it was. The possibility of the court accepting the right to privacy as a fundamental right was very bright after this."

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