National Seminar

on
Changing Dimensions of the
Right to Privacy in India

[25th& 26th March, 2018]

Organized by

Faculty of Law
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110025

Concept Note

About the Institution

Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) was established in 1920. Jamia Millia Islamia is one of the few
educational institutions which came into being in response to the nationalist call of
freedom struggle to boycott educational institutions supported or run by the British
colonial rule. Its mentors, teachers and students played a vital role during the Indian
struggle for independence. It became a Central University by an act of Parliament in
1988. In Urdu, Jamia means ‘University’, and Millia means ‘National’. Jamia has nine
faculties namely, Education, Humanities& Languages, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences,
Engineering & Technology, Law, Architecture & Ekistics and Dentistry. Besides, it has
30 centres of learning and research. Jamia Millia Islamia has been ranked at the
12thposition among universities in the country and stands 6thamong Central universities
as per the MHRD’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Rankings
Report-2017.

The Faculty of Law was established in 1989. Over the past three decades, the Faculty
has made significant progress in order to give due emphasis to the expanding horizons
of the legal profession.In its continuous endeavours in this regard, the Faculty has since
introduced a Five-Year Integrated B.A.LL. B (Hons.) Programme from the academic
session 2002-2003 thereby replacing the three-year LL.B. Course; a two-year Post-
Graduate Programme (LL.M.) in three specialized streams of Personal Laws, Corporate
Laws and Criminal Laws and a Ph.D. Programme, both having commenced from the
academic session 2000-2001. The Faculty of Law has also started the LLM (Executive)
Programme for legal professionals from the year 2017. LL.M. (Executive) Programme
presents a unique opportunity to specialize in the core topics of legal practice and to do
so through a flexible structure that accommodates the demands of professional life.
JMI’s Faculty of Law is one of few law faculties that are preparing to offer a new Post
Graduate Diploma in Labour Law (PGDLL) from the year 2018 to equip
students/professionalswith the knowledge and capacities required to act as dispute
resolution practitioners, including arbitrators, mediators and conciliators. As a holistic
occupationally directed programme, it will produce graduates ready to practice after
undergoing the basic practical exposure considered necessary by the industry.

The scientific and technological developments in the field of air and space are so rapid
that they have posed challenge to the legal fraternity and with the constant increasing
volume of disputes in the field of air and space has also resulted in the manifold
increase in the legal practitioners working in the field of air and space at developed
countries like United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Japan, France, Australia
etc. Keeping this in mind, the Post Graduate Diploma in Air and Space Law
(PGDASL) is a unique initiative undertaken at Faculty of Law, JMI, New Delhi. The
Course is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of Air Law and Space Law
along with some fundamental principles of public international law related to air and
space. The course would be extremely useful to the candidates having wide-ranging
background, from legal to scientific. The Faculty of Law, JMI ranked No. 1 by India
Today Magazine in the issue of June 26, 2017

About the Seminar

The right to privacy has been interpreted as an unarticulated fundamental right under
the Constitution of India. However, through various judgments over the years, Indian
courts have interpreted the other rights in the Constitution as giving rise to a (limited)
right to privacy primarily through Article 21, the right to life and liberty. In 2015, this
interpretation was challenged and referred to a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court
in the Justice K.S Puttaswamy & Another v. Union of India and others [(2014) 6 SCC
433] categorically held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right enshrined under
Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It will be accorded the same protection as other
fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution.

Judiciary in India enjoys a significant position since it has been made the guardian and
custodian of the Constitution. It is not only a watch-dog against violation of
fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution but protects all persons, Indian
and aliens alike, against discrimination, abuse of state power, arbitrariness etc. Liberty
and Equality have well survived and thrived in India due to the pro-active role played
by the Indian Judiciary. The Supreme Court has, over the years, elaborated the scope of
fundamental rights upholding the rights and dignity of individual, in true spirit of good
governance. The great contribution of judicial activism in India has been to provide a
safety value and a hope that justice is not beyond doubt.

Right to Privacy in India has been a contentious issue in recent years and it concerns the
lives of many people around the world. Right to privacy is not a constitutionally but a
judicially recognized right. In our country, the sole credit goes to the Judiciary for
recognizing the concept of privacy because neither the constitution nor any other
statute in our country defined this concept. Still a lot more has to be done for the
recognition and protection of privacy by law in India. As a matter of fact, this concept is
quiet in primitive stage of its development. This Seminar endeavor to focus on the
impact of declaring privacy as a fundamental right, the impact on private entities (non-
state parties) and the potential impact on the anticipated privacy law.

Objective of the Seminar

The Right to Privacy per se is not a specifically guaranteed fundamental right under the
Constitution of India, however the apex court has time and again interpreted it
indirectly as a part and parcel of fundamental rights. There have been instances in
various cases decided by the apex court. The right to privacy in India has come a long
way from the decision given in Kharak Singh’s case [Kharak Singh v. Sate of U.P. (AIR
1963 SC 1295)] which was one of the first instances which incorporated right to privacy
with as an integral part of right to life and personal liberty to the most recent judgment
in Justice K.S Puttaswamy & Another v. Union of India, wherein the apex court
unanimously held that the right to privacy is fundamental right protected under the
Constitution.

Subsequently, this right has come under the radar of reasonable restrictions under
Article 19 (2) and with the different facets of this right been invoked by a plethora of
judgments including the areas like privacy in communications, freedom of movement,
physical privacy and mental privacy, unique identification number related privacy, etc.,
there are still different facets of the right which need to be established. With the DNA
Profiling Bill, reconsideration of validity of Section 377 and LGBT rights, Euthanasia
and abortion, Marital rape again the discussion relating to right to privacy has come on
the forefront. This Seminar is therefore an attempt to analyse the right to privacy from
different perspectives and check the status of this right. The proposed objective of the
seminar that:
 To understand the various facets of Right to Privacy in India
 To determine the scope of Right to Privacy which can be guaranteed
 To analyse the significance of technological advancements on the restrictions on
Right to Privacy
 To analyse the effect of DNA profiling, biometric identification, etc. on the criminal
liability on the accused.
 To the needs of and the opportunities and dangers posed to liberty in a digital
world.

The present seminar has been conceptualized with the basic objective of taking stock of
the progress made by India in the sphere of law, and creates a space for discussion on
all matters pertaining to legal issues concerning privacy.
In this background there is an incessant call to hold public debate through seminars,
conference, workshops, symposia and discussion to elicit valuable inputs from the
ground so as to effectively answer whether there is a need of recognition of right to
privacy as Fundamental Rights for achieving the social unity and solidarity of the
nation as envisaged by the Preamble of the Indian Constitution? This National Seminar
offers an opportunity to experts from various disciplines, be they are, Researchers,
Academicians, Policymakers, Government Organization, Law Experts, International
Lawyers, Judges, Negotiators, Diplomats, Government Representatives, National
Organizations, Media Representatives, Non-Governmental Organization and Students
to come together and share their valuable thoughts, impression and research studies on
the following issues relating to majors themes of Privacy Laws in India:
(i) Bodily Privacy [Privacy of the physical body against violations and restraints of
bodily movement]
(ii) Spacial Privacy [Privacy of a space, such as family life and intimate relations]
(iii) Communicational Privacy [Right against access to communication, or control over
it]
(iv) Proprietary Privacy [Right to use property as a means to shield facts or
information]
(v) Intellectual Privacy [Privacy of thought, mind, opinions and beliefs]
(vi) Decisional Privacy [The ability to make intimate decisions]
(vii) Associational Privacy [Privacy of the choice of who to interact with]
(viii) Behavioural Privacy [The ability to control the extent of access even while
conducting publicly visible activities]
(ix) Informational Privacy [An interest in preventing information about the self from
being dissemination, and controlling the extent of access to the information]

On the above-mentioned objectives and related areas on the sub-themes mentioned

below:
 Concept of Right to Privacy
 Right to Identity vis-à-vis Right to Privacy
 Data Privacy
 DNA Profiling and Right to Privacy
 Implication of the Right to Privacy Judgement [Justice K.S Puttaswamy & Another v.
Union of India]
 Viability of the Right to Privacy in India
 Judicial Trends in Right to Privacy

The above themes are indicative and the author can send the article on any topic related
to the broad theme of the Seminar.

Call for Papers

Seminar papers are invited from the academicians, practitioners, researchers, scholars
and students on the issues related to above themes. It is also proposed that the selected
papers by the Committee will be published in a special volume on the seminar in the
form of an edited book with ISBN No. Author of selected papers would be given an
opportunity to present their papers as per requirement of the theme during sessions on
the day of the seminar.

Guidelines for Submission

Interested authors should submit an abstract of their original research/conceptual
papers and empirical studies/case studies briefly describing objectives, methodology,
major results and its implications in about 300-350 words. All abstracts will be peer
reviewed and evaluated before final acceptance. Authors of accepted abstracts will be
invited to submit and present full paper at the seminar. Accepted abstract are likely to
be published in the souvenir of the projected Seminar. The length of the full papers
should normally not exceed about 5000 words (excluding tables, figures, illustrations
and references etc.) and it must be typed in Times New Roman Font Size 12 on A4 size
paper with 1” margin on all sides with 1.5 line spacing using MS Word. The Blue Book:
A Uniform System of Citation (19th ed.) must be strictly adhered to while submitting
the abstract and full papers.

All the Abstracts and Full-length papers shall be sent as an attachment on email id.
[email protected]

Registration Procedure & Fees

Participants willing to attend the seminar should fill the enclosed Registration Form
and submit it latest by 20thMarch, 2018. Filled-in registration form can be sent
electronically or by post. Registration Fees can only be paid in cash at the Registration
Desks on the inaugural day at the venue [Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, New
Delhi-110025].

Types of Delegates Registration Fee

Academicians Rs. 750
Professionals (NGOs/Media Persons/Policymakers) Rs. 1000
Research Scholars Rs. 500
Students Rs. 250
Foreign Delegates US$ 50
Note
 Last Date for Submission of Abstracts by Post/E-mail (Softcopy): 5thMarch, 2018
 Intimation on Selection of the Abstract: 6th March, 2018
 Last Date for Submission of Full Paper:15th March, 2018
 Soft Copy of the Submissions should be addressed at:
 Hard Copy of the Submissions may be sent along-with a CD should be addressed
at: The Dean, Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110025
 Details of Conference Sessions will be posted on the web-site of JMI
 On the spot registration will also be available at Registration Desk on the day of
seminar.
 No TA/DA will be paid to participants.

Venue
The venue of the Seminar will be Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-
110025

In Case of Queries and Clarification the Contact Address

following may be Contacted:
[Timing: 9:30 am-4:30 pm]

1.Dr. Faizanur Rahman The Dean,

Assistant Professor Faculty of Law, JamiaMilliaIslamia
Mobile No.: +91-8348333999 New Delhi-110025
Delhi
India

2. Ms. Sayantika Ganguly

Student
Mobile No.: +91-9873546287

Prof. Nuzhat Parveen Khan

[Convener-Seminar]
 National Seminar

On

Changing Dimensions of the

Right to Privacy in India

[Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110025

25th&26thMarch, 2018]

Registration Form

Personal & Contact Details:

Full Name:
Designation
Department/Unit:
Institution/Organization
Postal Address:
Country/State:
Phone No.:
Mobile No.:
Email Id.:

Category: Academicians

Professionals (NGOs/Media
Persons/Policymakers)

Students/Research Scholars

Foreign Delegates

Whether contributing a paper to the Seminar: Yes/No

Title of Paper:

Mode of Presentation: Oral/PPT

(Signature)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY:

State:……………………………Registration No.:……………………………………………..