Right To Be Forgotten In India: Reconciling Informational Privacy With The Right To Freedom Of Speech
Niharika Pathak, B.A. LL.B., Faculty of Law, SMS Law College
ABSTRACT
The right to be forgotten (“RTBF”) has emerged as one of the most contested frontiers of informational privacy in India. Rooted in the recognition of privacy as a fundamental right in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, the RTBF seeks to empower an individual to prevent the continued digital circulation of personal information that is outdated, irrelevant, or no longer serves any public purpose. Yet the very architecture of the internet, coupled with India's constitutional commitment to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) and the principle of open justice, resists any straightforward transplantation of this right. This paper traces the doctrinal origins of the RTBF, examines the divergent approach taken by the Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi High Courts, evaluates the limited statutory recognition granted under Section 12 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and situates the Indian position against the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. It argues that the absence of a codified, judicially administrable standard has produced inconsistency and unpredictability, and proposes a structured proportionality framework drawing on the legality-necessity proportionality test laid down in Puttaswamy through which courts and future legislation may reconcile the dignitarian interest in being forgotten with the public's continuing interest in information, transparency and free expression.
Keywords: Right to be Forgotten, informational privacy, Article 21, Article 19(1)(a), Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, open justice, proportionality.
