Delhi HC recognises 'right to be forgotten', orders de-indexing of acquittal, settled case records
Delhi HC held that the right to be forgotten is part of privacy rights under Article 21 and directed search engines to de-index certain judicial records.
The Delhi High Court on Monday ( June 1) recognised the "right to be forgotten" as part of the fundamental right to privacy and ruled that search engines like Google cannot indefinitely surface judicial records through name-based searches in cases that have ended in acquittal, discharge, quashing, settlement or involve disputes of a purely private nature.
The verdict was pronounced by a bench led by Justice Sachin Datta on a batch of more than 30 petitions filed by individuals seeking removal of judicial records and related reports from search results linked to their names.
The apex court further stated that while transparency and public access to court records remain important, unrestricted online visibility of resolved legal proceedings can disproportionately affect a person's privacy, dignity and reputation.
Privacy right reaffirmed
"The right to be forgotten, understood as subsuming the right of an individual to seek removal or restriction of personal information from public digital accessibility, where such information is no longer relevant or serves no legitimate public purpose, flows naturally and necessarily from the constitutional recognition of informational privacy under Article 21,” stated the order.
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The Court directed search engines, legal database platforms and other intermediaries to de-index judgments, orders and related reportage from name-based searches where relief has been granted.
Limits on search indexing
Referring to acquittals, discharges, settlements and quashings, the Court observed, "In the categories of cases with which this court is concerned, inter alia, acquittals, discharges, quashings, settlements, compounding and disputes of purely private nature, no law authorises Google or any search engine to perpetually index and surface judicial records in a manner that overrides the individual's fundamental right to informational privacy."
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The Court, however, refused relief to public figure PP Madhva and reality television personality Ashutosh Kaushik, holding that the "right to be forgotten" cannot be used for the "selective erasure" of a public figure's past conduct.
Exceptions and compliance
It also clarified that de-indexing would ordinarily not apply in cases involving offences against women or children, breach of public trust, or offences by public servants and elected representatives.
The Court directed all concerned authorities and intermediaries to comply with its directions within two weeks.
(With agency inputs)