Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk

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📍 The Question

Under which of the following Articles of the Constitution of India has the Supreme Court of India placed the Right to Privacy?

(a) Article 15
(b) Article 16
(c) Article 19
(d) Article 21

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✅ Correct Answer: (d) Article 21

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🎯 Theme of the Question

Indian Polity | Fundamental Rights | Judicial Interpretation | Article 21

This is a landmark constitutional interpretation question, combining core polity with modern constitutional jurisprudence.

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🧠 Classroom Explanation

The Right to Privacy was conclusively recognized as a Fundamental Right by the Supreme Court in the historic judgment:

👉 Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs Union of India (2017)

In this unanimous 9-judge Constitution Bench verdict, the Court held that:

The Right to Privacy is an intrinsic part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

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⚖️ Constitutional Reasoning

• Article 21 guarantees:
  “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”
• Over the years, the Supreme Court has expanded Article 21 to include:
  • Right to dignity
  • Right to autonomy
  • Right to bodily integrity
  • Right to informational self-determination

The Right to Privacy flows naturally from these dimensions.

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🚫 Earlier Judgments Overruled

The Puttaswamy judgment explicitly overruled two earlier cases:

• M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra (1958)
• Kharak Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1961)

Both had earlier held that the Constitution did not protect the Right to Privacy.

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❌ Why other options are incorrect

• Article 15 ❌ — Prohibition of discrimination
• Article 16 ❌ — Equality of opportunity in public employment
• Article 19 ❌ — Freedoms like speech, movement, association (privacy not explicitly housed here)

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🧩 Prelims Memory Hook

“Privacy lives where life lives — Article 21.”

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🧭 IAS Monk Whisper

Constitutions do not merely list rights; courts give them breath.