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KARNATAKA HC: PRIVACY RIGHTS IN MARRIAGE

Why in the News?

• A woman, amid a matrimonial dispute, sought her husband’s Aadhaar data under the RTI Act.
• A Division Bench, comprising Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav and Justice Vijaykumar, dismissed the argument that marriage implies a merger of identities.

Privacy Rights and Aadhaar Act

• The Karnataka High Court emphasized that marriage does not diminish an individual’s right to privacy under the Aadhaar Act.
• It ruled that accessing personal data stored in Aadhaar of one spouse without hearing the concerned spouse is impermissible.

Marriage and Procedural Rights

• The court asserted that marriage does not invalidate the procedural right of hearing, as per Section 33 of the Aadhaar Act.

• It emphasized that despite the union in marriage, the right to privacy remains protected through the Act’s hearing provisions.

UIDAI’s Challenge and Court Decision

• The UIDAI challenged a Single Judge Bench’s direction to consider the wife’s plea seeking her husband’s Aadhaar enrollment data under the RTI Act.
• The woman, amid the dispute, approached a family court in Hubballi, seeking maintenance and was granted ₹15,000 monthly by the court.

The Karnataka High Court’s stance reaffirms that marital ties do not supersede an individual’s right to privacy, particularly concerning personal data stored in Aadhaar, underlining the significance of due process and the protection of privacy rights in such situations.