The Delhi High Court on May 29, 2026 issued an order that a search engine must remove certain details of a criminal case under the भूलने का अधिकार. The order pits the principle of खुला न्याय against the सूचनात्मक गोपनीयता का अधिकार recognised in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (2017). The judgment highlights a growing tension between public access to legal records and individual privacy in the digital age.
Key Developments
- The Justice Sachin Datta ruled that merely updating official court records is insufficient because search engines can still display excerpts without context.
- The order emphasizes that खुला न्याय does not require the ability to locate a case using the accused’s name if the record is incomplete.
- The court highlighted the problem of “incompleteness” – if a person is acquitted, the public should be able to see that outcome, not just the original accusation.
- The decision calls for regular refreshing of legal databases by platforms that index court information.
Important Facts
- Digital court records are now searchable worldwide, increasing both accessibility and the risk of outdated information persisting online.
- European jurisprudence on the भूलने का अधिकार balances privacy with freedom of expression; India is yet to develop a clear statutory framework.
- The High Court’s concern is that search engines may “excerpt small portions without sufficient context,” leading to misinterpretation.
- Curr