Ajay Rastogi Archives - Lokmarg

New Data Protection Bill To Be Introduced In Monsoon Session

By LokMarg 11th April 2023

The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that the government will table the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament in July.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar fixed the matter for hearing in August.
Attorney General R Venkatramani, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the new Bill on personal data protection is ready and will be introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

“The Bill is ready, it just has to be introduced in parliament in the monsoon session at the end of June, July,” the Attorney General said.

To this, the bench replied, “So, it will be under consideration if we list in July…August will be most practical.”

“We take note of the submission of the AG that a Bill which would cover many aspects of the… addresses all concerns will be tabled in the Monsoon Session in July 2023. Considering the circumstances, the matter is to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for a bench to be constituted preferably in the first week of August,” the bench stated in its order.

Counsels appearing for the petitioners requested that the top court list the case earlier as Bill has not been introduced in the Parliament for so long.

“Consultation is a long process… We want a good law to come,” the Attorney General replied.

The bench was hearing pleas filed by two students challenging WhatsApp’s 2021 Privacy Policy to share users’ data with parent company Facebook and others as a violation of their privacy and free speech.

Last year, the apex court had asked the government either place before the Parliament, the Bill, which addresses the privacy concerns of users and standards to be followed by WhatsApp or it will begin the final hearing in the case.

Earlier, the Centre had said Indian users cannot be discriminated against by other users of WhatsApp and informed the apex court that the government has already withdrawn the old Data Protection Bill and a new Bill will be introduced in the Parliament.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, had told the bench that Indian users are deprived of their fundamental rights and the same platform operating in other countries, especially in the European Union, has higher standards of privacy and those standards are not prevalent in India.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for WhatsApp, had told the bench that European countries have their own set of laws which are applied there and in India, the company follows the present law.

The Constitution bench was hearing the plea filed by two students — Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi — challenging the contract entered into between the two companies to provide access to calls, photographs, texts, videos and documents shared by users is a violation of their privacy and free speech. (ANI)

SC To Modify Cumbersome Guidelines On ‘Living Will’

By LokMarg 17th January 2023

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said agreed to modify its 2018 guidelines on “living will”, an advance medical directive on end-of-life treatment.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar observed that the legislature is much more endowed with “skills and sources of knowledge” to enact a relevant law for terminally ill patients choosing to stop treatment.
The bench said it will limit itself to improving the guidelines it had laid down on “living will”.

There can only be a little tweaking of the guidelines or else it will become a review of its own 2018 judgement, it added.

The top court’s order notwithstanding, people wanting to get a “living will” registered have been facing problems due to cumbersome guidelines.

The apex court was informed that the procedure under the Supreme Court guidelines had become unworkable due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the process.

The Constitution bench was considering a plea seeking modification of the guidelines for living will/advance medical directive issued by it in 2018.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar told the bench that as per the apex court’s directions, a medical board has to first declare that the patient has no scope of recovery or is brain dead.

He added that the procedure then enumerates that the district collector has to constitute an independent medical board to obtain a second opinion, after which the matter is referred to a judicial magistrate, first class.

Datar suggested in a living will, there can be two witnesses and the role of the judicial magistrate can be done away with.

The hearing will resume on Wednesday.

On March 9, 2018, the apex court had in its judgment recognized that a terminally ill patient or a person in a persistent vegetative state may execute an advance medical directive or a “living will” to refuse medical treatment, holding the right to live with dignity also included “smoothening” the process of dying.

The judgment of the apex court had come on a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause seeking recognition of the “living will” made by terminally-ill patients for passive euthanasia.

The top court had laid down principles related to the procedure for execution of advance directives and spelt out guidelines and safeguards to give effect to passive euthanasia in both circumstances where there are advance directives and where there are none.

It had said that directives and guidelines shall remain in force till Parliament brings legislation in the field. (ANI)

SC Slams Ekta Over Objectionable Content In XXX Web Series

By LokMarg 14th October 2022

The Supreme Court on Friday slammed producer Ekta Kapoor over “objectionable content” in the web series ‘XXX’ produced by her saying she was polluting the minds of the youngsters.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar said, “Something has to be done. You are polluting the minds of the young generation of this country. OTT (Over The Top) content is available to all. What kind of choice are you providing to the people?”
The remarks of the bench came after Kapoor filed a plea in the top court challenging the arrest warrants issued against her for the alleged objectionable content in her web series ‘XXX’.

A complaint was filed by Shambhu Kumar, an ex-serviceman against Kapoor for allegedly insulting soldiers and hurting the sentiments of their families in the web series aired on her OTT platform ALTBalaji.

A trial court in Bihar’s Begusarai issued the warrant on a complaint lodged by Kumar in 2020.

The counsel appearing for Kapoor told the apex court that the matter is pending before the Patna High Court against the arrest warrants but there is no hope the matter will be listed for hearing soon.

It was also irked that Kapoor approached the top court and refrained from imposing a cost.

This court is not for those who have voices, this court works for those who don’t have voices, the bench remarked. (ANI)