Privacy verdict by top court: Implications for business

In a landmark judgment a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India has unanimously held that privacy is a constitutionally protected right to be guaranteed by the fundamental rights contained in part III of India’s constitution. While not explicitly defining “privacy”, the court observed that privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation.

This decision has wider implications, from both a geo-social and a business perspective. Some of the business implications of the right to privacy verdict are analysed below.

The major implications of the verdict will be seen in the virtual space of the internet and the associated sectors of e-commerce, search engines and data protection companies. The privacy issues related to the virtual world will be compounded as more and more Indians are using the internet platform, with internet penetration currently standing at 31% of India’s total population.

Manoj Kumar is the founder and managing partner at Hammurabi & Solomon, where Pathik Arora is a senior partner.