Khushwant Singh vs. Menaka Gandhi

The Longest Constitution with Priya Mirza

What is the balance between privacy rights and freedom of expression? As we mark the progress of privacy rights, we examine an important case which vacated an injunction against the publication of a book, holding the freedom of expression to be greater than that of privacy and observing that questions of defamation can be settled by trial. We also look at why the UIDAI did not consider serious questions of a data leak or how citizens' biometric data is shared. Finally, we look at the darkest dimension of the Delhi sealing case: the profit made by YK Sabharwal’s sons.

Reading material:

On free speech and privacy:

1. Bhatia, Gautam, ‘Death by a thousand cuts: freedom of speech injunctions and the Ramdev Affair’, https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-freedom-of-speech-injunctions-and-the-ramdev-affair/#:~:text=In%20Khushwant%20Singh%20v%20Maneka,that%20dealt%20with%20the%20Gandhis.

2. Bhatia, Gautam, 2016, Offend, Shock, or Disturb: Free Speech under the Indian Constitution, (New Delhi: OUP)

3. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1203848/

On the Delhi sealing case:

1. Roy, Arundhati, ‘Scandal in the Palace’ https://www.countercurrents.org/roy250907.htm

2. Bhuwania, Anuj, 2016, Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India, (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press).

On judicial independence:

1. Sengupta, Arghya and Ritwika Sharma, (2018), Appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court of India: Transparency, Accountability and Independence (Delhi: OUP)

2. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1302865/

On UIDAI:

1. Khera, Reetika, (2019), Dissent on Aadhaar: Big Data meets Big Brother, (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan)

2. Nilekeni, Nandan and Viral Shah (2015), Rebooting India: Realising a Billion Aspirations, (New Delhi: Penguin)

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