A webinar on ‘Right to Privacy vis-a-vis the Information Technology Act” was organised jointly by Rotary Club of Gauhati South, Rotary Club of Shillong Heritage and Rotaract Club of South Guwahati.
The webinar held on November 8 was the second in the series on cyber laws, cyber security and cyber-crime and attended by 402 Rotarians, Rotaractors and teachers & students of National Law University, Assam, NEF Law College, Royal School of Law, USTM School of Law and JB Law College.
Organiser said the webinar was of immense significance for every single citizen and evoked tremendous interest and enthusiasm among participants.
Former Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court and former Judge of Supreme Court of India Justice Jasti Chelameswar in his keynote address spoke about the changes brought about by the progress in artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
He said that the full contour of the Right to Privacy is not known to anybody, even to the best legal minds. Ever since the expression ‘Right to Privacy’ was coined about a 100 years ago, legal scholars have identified three of its facets viz; repose- freedom from unwarranted stimuli, sanctuary- intrusion of privacy by observation and intimate decision-making process — such as the choice of one’s life partner.
He elaborated on these facets with relevant examples. Some of these rights are explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Intrusion of privacy need not originate only from the state and its instruments but also by non-state players. An individual’s right to privacy cannot interfere with the right to privacy of others. No right is absolute, with every right comes responsibility -obligations towards an individual, a section of society or society at large. The ultimate protection of any liberty is the vigilance and courage of the citizenry, he said.
The address was followed by a lively question answer session where Justice Chelameswar answered questions from the participants.
