Mint Quick Edit | Digital access: A welcome new basic right
India’s Supreme Court has ruled that digital access is part of the Right to Life under the Constitution. This was in the context of people with disabilities but applies to all. We must rush to close the digital divide.
An order by the Supreme Court on Wednesday aimed at ensuring digital access for persons with disabilities needs to be noted by the entire online ecosystem. In directing that digital Know Your Customer processes be adapted accordingly, India’s apex court ruled that digital access is an essential part of the Right to Life.
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This represents a significant broadening of this basic right’s coverage. Some years ago, privacy was included in its ambit. While the Constitution does not explicitly mention these and its framers could not have foreseen the digital age, both these rights are consistent with the essential logic of the broader right under which the judiciary has accorded them an elevated status as a sovereign guarantee.
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Indeed, with digital engagement unavoidable and so many government interfaces having gone online, nobody should suffer exclusion on account of an inability to log on to the internet and do what the net-enabled do. Digital infrastructure, however, may have some catching up to do.
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Let’s hope the government’s digital expansion plans are helpful in this regard. Meanwhile, digital operators and services across the world should ponder what India’s top court has just said.
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