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Downloads/Birthing%20A%20Market.Pdf/(Last Visited Feb INDEX SI.No. CONTENTS Page No. 1. The Scenario of Privacy Law 3 - Hon’ble Mr. Justice M. Venugopal 2. Ground Water Management: The Widening Gap between Law and Policy in India 13 - Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh 3. Empower Women to Empower the World 20 - Hon’ble Mr. Justice T.S. Sivagnanam 4. Women rights and dire need for Empowerment 37 - Hon’ble Justice R. Mala 5. Missing Children -Quo Vadis 49 - Hon’ble Justice Vimala Velmurugan 6. Conferred Rights and Articles 32 and 226 of the Indian Constitution – A Normative Analysis 54 - Prof. Dr. P. Vanangamudi 7. Unnatural Offences in Natural Perspectives : A Socio - Legal Analysis 65 - Prof. Dr. N. S. Santhosh Kumar 8. Efficacy of Industrial Adjudication in India - A Critical Study 80 - Prof. Dr. M. S. Soundara Pandian 9. Dishonouring the Honour killings : The Role of Judiciary 94 - Prof. Dr. A. David Ambrose 10. Child Sexual Abuse - Are the Laws merely Paper Tigers ? 107 - Prof. Dr. Valsamma Paul 11. Bio Piracy at Source - Check Through Prior Informed Consent 120 - Mrs. Krishnaveni Sivagnanam 12. Legal Research, Jurimetrics and Judicial Behaviour 130 - Dr. Lisa P. Lukose 13. Child Trafficking - A Seminal Discourse from Human Rights: Towards Jus Novum 144 - Prof. Dr. A. Raghunadha Reddy 14. Aged Parents - Legal Protection 152 - Mr. Jose Vikas Yesudasan INDEX SI.No. CONTENTS Page No. 15. Interplay of Technology and Law – Gender Perspective 164 - Dr. Reddivari Revathi 16. Legal and Ethical Issues of Cadaver Organ Transplantation Procurement 176 - Dr. N. Kayalvizhi 17. History of Conflict of Personal Laws in India and its Resolution – An analysis 192 - Mrs. P. Lakshmi 18. Prevention of Corruption Through Right to Information Act 209 - Dr. N. Devanathan 19. Child Sexual Abuse – Efficacy of Protection vis-a-vis Prosecution - A Criminal Jurisprudential View of POSCO Act, 2012 217 - Mr. C. E. Pratap 20. Reliability of Expert Opinions on Forensic Data in Criminal Prosecutions – A Critical Analysis 227 - Mr. Arunkumar Rajan 21. Legal Inconsistencies And Barriers in Commercial Surrogacy in India 237 - Ms. Sonali Kusum 22. Reverse Engineering of Copyrighted Computer Programme - Interface between Competition and Copyright Law 252 - Mrs. Lucky George 23. Celebrity Rights and their Legal Implications - A Glance 268 - Mr. M. Sivaraman 24. Corporate Governance under the Companies Act, 2013 280 - Mr. A. M. Sridharan 25. Role of ILO in wage policy – An Indian Scenario 288 - Dr. Ambika R Nair The Scenario of Privacy Law Hon’ble Mr. Justice M. Venugopal * In the year 1979, India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights which came into effect in the year 1976. Thomas Cooley termed, ’Right of Privacy as the ‘Right to be let alone’,1. In modern times, the ambit of privacy law has so widened to take within its fold , the right of a Homo sapien to arrange and to conduct the affairs of his family in accordance with his personal beliefs and preferences etc., ‘Right to Privacy ‘protects the personal liberty and dignity of human beings. However, there is no privacy law/statute in our country. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.2 Article 12 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights , 1948 enjoins that ‘No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence nor to attack upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to protection of law against such interference or attacks.’ European Convention on Human Rights 3. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights speaks of ‘right to respect for private and family life. Every one has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. There shall be no interference by a public authority * Judge, High Court, Madras. 1. Thomas Cooley,’His treatise on Torts,II Edition, Collaghen & Company,Chickago,1988,P.29 2. www.un.org last visited 7.5.2015.. 3. www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf last visited 9.5.2015. 4 Journal of the Department of Legal Studies (Vol. 35, 36 & 37 - 2013, 2014 & 2015) with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of rights and freedom of others. Also that Art.17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights4 has reiterated the aforesaid position. Salient features of Privacy Law: It is to be borne in mind that the ‘Right to Privacy’ is not explicitly mentioned under the constitution . Whether a right of privacy can be claimed or has been infringed in a given case would depend on the facts of the said case .5 Even the modern law of torts, affords protection to persons against violation of privacy 6 in respect of the following: 1) Intrusion of solitude: Physical or electronic intrusion into one’s private quarters. 2) Public disclosure of private facts: The dissemination or truthful private information which a reasonable person would find objectionable. 3) False light: The publication of facts which place a person in a false light even though the facts themselves may not be defamatory. 4) Appropriation: The unauthorized use of a persons name or likeness to obtain some benefits . The Privileged Communications : Sec. 122 of the Indian Evidence Act, 18727 specifies that husband and wife are competent witnesses in all civil proceedings. In so far as criminal proceedings are concerned, against the accused,husband or wife is not a competent witness. It cannot be forgotten that the married couples are prohibited from disclosing any communication made between them during marriage without the consent of the person who made it. 4. (No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation. 2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. 5. (The right of privacy has evolved to protect the freedom of individuals to choose whether or not to perform certain acts or subject themselves to certain experiences. This personal autonomy has grown into a ‘liberty’ protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment) . https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/personal_autonomy last visited 9.5.2015. 6. William L.Prosser,Privacy, California Law Review,Vol. 48,Issue 3 August,1960 Pg.3 7. Act No.1. of 1872. The Scenario of Privacy Law 5 In short, Section 122 of the Indian Evidence Act, inhibits disclosure of marital confidence and it cannot be violated by a spouse through medium of a third person T.J.Ponnen v. M.C.Varghese,8 It is further observed and held on the question as to whether a communication by a husband to his wife would amount to publication in law , the precedent in Wennhak v. Morgan9, appears pertinent. The question was whether the handing over of a letter with a libelous imputation by the libeler to his wife was publication. Baron Huddleston with concurrence of ManistyJ., held “that the uttering of a libel by a husband to his wife is no publication.” Though the reason for that dictum was the common law recognition of unity of spouses, I think that the same result must follow when communications between husband and wife are precluded by statute from being disclosed; for that which cannot be or is not proved in court has to be assumed as non-existent in the eye of law.” In terms of Sec.123 of the Indian Evidence Act10 , the foundation of the claim or privilege is whether the evidence sought to be given is ‘derived from unpublished official records relating to any affairs of the state.’ This is essential condition precedent before any privilege can be claimed. A person summoned to produce a document is bound before court or to send the same through another inspite of any objections to be produced or employed in evidence as per Sec.162 of the Indian Evidence Act. That apart, Section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code,197311 provides that when any court considers the production of any document or things necessary for the purpose of any investigation, enquiry or trial it may issue a summon for its production. However, Section 91(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code points out that ‘ nothing in the Section is deemed to affect the Indian Evidence Act, Section 123 and Section 124. However, the discretion under Section91 of the Criminal Procedure Code must be exercised judicially and in such a way as not to conflict with the policy in Section 162 of Criminal Procedure Code and in Section 123 and - Section 125 of the Indian Evidence Act as per R v. Bilal Mohammed 12 . 8. 1967 Crl.L.J.1511 & P.1157. 9. (1888)20 QBD 635. 10. Supra Note 8. 11. Act No.2. of 1974. 12. AIR 1940 Bombay 768. 6 Journal of the Department of Legal Studies (Vol. 35, 36 & 37 - 2013, 2014 & 2015) Section 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, requires that the communication made to a public officer in official confidence‘ ought not to be disclosed or as being detrimental to the public interest or service as per the decision and Halsbury’s Laws of England13 . It further says that no Magistrate or police officer ‘shall be compelled to say,’ but the discretion as to whether he will say or not has been left with the magistrate or the police. The police officers are directed to maintain secrecy in regard to the sources of their information.
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