It is a proud moment for any legal educational institution when the work of its students finds its way into the highest courts of the country. Recently this week, the landmark judgement delivered by the Supreme Court of India, declaring Right to Privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21, included contributions from two of our graduates.
In first part of the judgement by Justice DY Chandrachud, when the court seeked to trace back the right to privacy in the legal history of our country, it took the help of a publication by our graduate from the Class of 2015, Ashna Ashesh, originally written as part of her work at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore. The article titled Locating Constructs of Privacy within Classical Hindu Law attempts to displace the notion in law and common perception that privacy is inherently a 'western concept'.
Chandrachud J. para 39 page 33 footnote 46
We also take immense pleasure in the fact that another of our graduate, Maithili Pai from the Class of 2017, currently serves as Law Clerk cum Research Assistant to Chandrachud J and had extensively contributed to the judgement in her capacity.
Maithili's favourite parts from the judgement includes para 127 from page 124 where court held that the High Court in Suresh Koushal was erroneous in its view about the "so-called rights of LGBT persons", followed by the smooth dismissal of the argument that privacy is an elitist construct in paras 154-157, where the court declared that "the pursuit of happiness is founded upon autonomy and dignity. Both are essential attributes of privacy which makes no distinction between the birth marks of individuals."
We at NUJS, feel that this beautifully drafted judgement is a must-read for every citizen of this country regardless of their involvement in law or legal education. We are attaching the full copy of the judgement below for the convenience of all our readers.
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