MASS SURVEILLANCE IN INDIA: DEATH OF THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY

AUTHOR – AAYUSH & HARSHWARDHAN YADAV

STUDENTS AT NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

BEST CITATION – AAYUSH & HARSHWARDHAN YADAV, MASS SURVEILLANCE IN INDIA: DEATH OF THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (11) OF 2025, PG. 773-782, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344

ABSTRACT

The recognition of the right to privacy as a fundamental right in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) marked a constitutional milestone, embedding privacy within the ambit of Article 21. Yet, India’s growing surveillance infrastructure comprising programmes like the Central Monitoring System (CMS), NETRA, and NATGRID poses grave challenges to this right by enabling bulk interception of communications with limited transparency or oversight. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA), heralded as India’s first comprehensive data protection framework, introduces principles of consent, purpose limitation, and fiduciary duties. However, its sweeping exemptions for the State risk legitimising mass surveillance rather than restraining it. This paper critically examines the constitutional trajectory of privacy rights, the statutory framework enabling surveillance, and the implications of the DPDPA. It argues that the Act, by consolidating executive discretion and bypassing proportionality safeguards laid down in Puttaswamy, erodes the balance between security and liberty. The chilling impact on free expression, association, and dissent underscores the democratic costs of unchecked monitoring. The study concludes by proposing reforms including independent oversight, judicial authorisation, and robust accountability mechanisms to ensure that surveillance in India aligns with principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality, consistent with international human rights standards.

Keywords: Mass surveillance; privacy; Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023; constitutional law; Puttaswamy judgment; national security; proportionality; data protection; India; fundamental rights.