QUESTION 12
GS2
15 marks
Examine the scope of Fundamental Rights in the light of the latest judgement of the Supreme Court on Right to Privacy.
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Examine how the 2017 privacy verdict widened the scope of Fundamental Rights.
ExamineGo into the details, test each point against evidence, and conclude on what it shows.
Demand-wise check
- 1Puttaswamy (2017): nine judges unanimously held privacy a fundamental right under Article 21 and Part III; overruled M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962) on this point≈50 words
- 2Scope expanded: bodily autonomy, informational privacy, decisional autonomy; three-fold test (legality, legitimate aim, proportionality)≈50 words
- 3Later impact: Navtej Johar (2018), Joseph Shine (2018), Aadhaar verdict (2018), DPDP Act 2023≈50 words
- 4Limits: reasonable restrictions; surveillance concerns persist≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
JudgmentDoctrinal changesExpanded rights with casesLimitsConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Only summarising the judgment without wider FR scope
- Missing the proportionality test
Draw this
- Tree: Article 21 → privacy → bodily, informational, decisional branches
Value addition
- CaseK.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India (2017), nine-judge bench, unanimous.Supreme Court, 2017
- LawDigital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 gives statutory form to informational privacy.DPDP Act, 2023
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Akash Kumar · AIR 101 · Page 9 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Abhishek Singh · Page 24 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Alfred Thomas · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 29 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 11 minutes, then get it checked.