SC Examines Scope of Right to Be Forgotten

Context

The Supreme Court gave notice on a plea to strike a December 2025 decision of the Delhi High Court to have past news items against a banker discharged of money laundering charges struck down, questioning the boundaries of the so-called right to be forgotten (RTBF). 

History of Right to be Forgotten

• The Right to be Forgotten was introduced due to a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Justice in the case Google Spain, in which a Spanish man requested that the search engine delete old data relating to his previous debts.
• The principle was subsequently adopted in the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU in Article 17 that provides the right to erasure, but also provides circumstances in which this right can be restricted.

About Right to be Forgotten

• The right to be forgotten is the right to delete information or erase it so that it may no longer be available to the masses. 
• It gives a person the right to delete information on the internet that is in the form of a news, video, or photos, to ensure that one does not appear in the search engine such as Google in the case at hand.

Importance 

• Privacy Protection: It helps to avoid irreversible damage to the personal data that becomes obsolete or redundant.
• Digital Dignity: It makes sure that historical errors or accusations do not have an eternal mark.
• Global Alignment: It aligns India with global standards such as GDPR of the EU.
• Balanced Rights: It assists in striking a balance between the privacy of individuals and the freedom of the press on one hand, and the interest of the population at large.
• Rehabilitation: It aids in rehabilitation and reintegration particularly to acquitted and persons who served sentences.

Challenges

• The removal of content may be incompatible with the freedom of press and may also be subject to censorship.
• The courts should determine the issue of whether privacy is more important than the genuine interest of the community.
• The DPDP Act, 2023 is based on partial recognition without explicit RTBF procedures.
• Deletion of data on platforms, archives and search engines is complicated.
• An increase in RTBF petitions would put pressure on court resources.
• Problematic people can abuse RTBF to conceal their previous misdeeds and minimize openness.

Regulations on the Right to be Forgotten

• In the Information Technology Act, 2000 section 43A, organisations are liable to pay damages in case of failure to safeguard sensitive personal data. 
• The IT Rules, 2021 do not acknowledge the Right to Be Forgotten but they have a grievance mechanism allowing seeking content removal that exposes personal information.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the DPDP Rules, 2025 jointly enforce a citizen-focused data protection system founded on the principles such as consent, transparency, security and accountability, establish the role of data as a key part of the digital ecosystem, create a Data Protection Board of India to oversee the policy, and provide severe punishment to breachers of the law, which bolsters the privacy and trust in the Indian digital ecosystem.

Judicial Observations 

• The right to be forgotten is not directly stipulated in the Indian statute, but judges have long been aware since the 2017 decision in K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India of the right to forget as a part of the Right to Privacy in Article 21.
• With references to the 2016 regulation issued by the EU, the Court recognized the right of an individual to delete personal data that is not necessary, relevant, accurate, or desired to get processed and also stated that this right is not absolute and can be restricted by the freedom of expression, legal requirements, the interests of the population, their health, scientific investigations or legal claims.
• In the Jorawar Singh Mundy vs Union of India, the Delhi High Court used this principle by ordering deletion of the online records of a narcotics case that the petitioner had been acquitted in, observing that the online presence was damaging his job opportunities when acquitted of the offence.

Way Ahead

• Right to be Forgotten in India is at a cross-road because it needs a well-balanced approach weighing both privacy of people and freedom of speech, interest of the population and technology. 
• Going forward shall entail a concise and well structured legal framework having set boundaries, autonomous administration in order of evaluation of requests and coherent judicial advice. 
• The use of proportionality-based norms, enhancement of the technological collaboration with digital platforms, and augmented awareness among people, including introducing some measures against its misuse, will be needed to make sure that RTBF develops according to the constitutional principles and democratic responsibility.

Source: The IE

Mains PYQ

(Q) Examine the scope of Fundamental Rights in the light of the latest judgement of the Supreme Court on Right to Privacy. (2017)

• The Supreme Court gave notice on a plea to strike a December 2025 decision of the Delhi High Court to have past news items against a banker discharged of money laundering charges struck down, questioning the boundaries of the so-called right to be forgotten (RTBF).
• The Right to be Forgotten was introduced due to a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Justice in the case Google Spain, in which a Spanish man requested that the search engine delete old data relating to his previous debts.
• The principle was subsequently adopted in the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU in Article 17 that provides the right to erasure, but also provides circumstances in which this right can be restricted.
• The right to be forgotten is the right to delete information or erase it so that it may no longer be available to the masses.

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