There is a fundamental right to privacy, but with exceptions, Chief Justice

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The Centre yesterday conceded in the Supreme Court that right to privacy may be considered as a fundamental right under the Constitution, but many facets relating to it cannot be put under the fundamental rights category.

The contentious issue as to whether right to privacy was a fundamental right or not was referred to a larger bench in 2015 after the Centre had underlined the issue of two judgments delivered in 1950 and 1962 by the apex court that had held it was not a fundamental right.

Right to privacy could be a fundamental right, but it could not be absolute, Attorney General K K Venugopal submitted before a nine-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar.

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"There may be a fundamental right to privacy and it has to be a qualified right since it covers diverse aspects and a sub-species of the Right to Liberty. Every aspect or sub-species cannot qualify to be a fundamental right," he said.

"Right to privacy can't be one homogenious right. It's not absolute and is rather qualified to be elevated to the level of fundamental right. Privacy will be one species which comes under right to liberty," he said.

The Centre's assertion came when the bench posed a pointed query to the attorney general as to what was the stand of the government on the question whether right to privacy was a fundamental right or not.