Karnataka High Court Upholds Right to Be Forgotten Under Article 21

The Karnataka High Court has declared that the right to be forgotten falls under the constitutional right to informational privacy, as guaranteed by Article 21. The ruling came in response to a petition by a woman acquitted in a criminal case who faced employment challenges abroad due to her name appearing in digital records and search engine results.

The court ordered the masking of the woman's name from digital records, including those of the High Court Registry, City Civil Court Registry, Google, and Indian Kanoon. Justice M. Nagaprasanna stated that an acquittal must have practical effect beyond the courtroom and that allowing obsolete digital records to persist would enable technology to defeat justice.

Citing previous Supreme Court judgments, the court affirmed that the right to oblivion and the right to be forgotten are facets of informational privacy protected by Article 21. The judgment highlighted the internet's persistent memory, noting that "humans forget, but the internet does not forget and does not let humans forget." It concluded that digital footprints should not be permitted to remain in certain circumstances as it contradicts the right to be forgotten.

This decision aligns with recent trends in Indian courts expanding the right to be forgotten. Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court directed Google to de-index judgments and news reports from name-based searches. Similarly, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has also adopted a similar approach, aiming to balance open justice with informational privacy.