Delhi HC disposes of PIL, seeking direction for data confidentiality for travel companies; suggests to move representation before Centre

The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora stated that the petitioner who appears in person has not filed any representation with the Union of India.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday disposed of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), seeking direction to the Centre to take steps to ensure data confidentiality for the travel companies, suggesting that the petitioner make a representation before the authorities concerned. The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora stated that the petitioner, who appears in person has not filed any representation with the Union of India. Consequently, this petition is disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to raise the grievance with the Union of India.

The plea was moved by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a BJP leader, who stated that the foreign travel companies not only collect the data of the common man but also the personal data of lawmakers, Ministers, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Court, defense Personnel, Civil Servants and their family members. The petition claimed that there are several companies that are running their operations in India and that they are partially or fully owned by Chinese investors.

The plea further stated that the petitioner is worried about the potential misuse of citizen's data, especially their Aadhar and passport details. It also stated that the Supreme Court in the Justice Putaswamy Case has held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21. Thereafter, the Data Protection Committee, also known as the Justice Srikrishna Committee, has suggested that government-issued identity cards are sensitive personal data and their processing requires stringent laws.

Section 3 of the DPDP Act 2023 states that the provisions of the Act shall apply to the processing of digital data, both inside and outside the territory of India, if the goods or services are offered to the data principal within the territory of India. Therefore, it is the duty of the Centre to seek clarification from travel companies and particularly from foreign companies on data protection measures, added the plea. The petitioner suggests that the Centre should take written undertakings from the travel companies, particularly from foreign travel companies, to keep the citizen's data confidential and to comply with the provisions of the DPDP Act 2023 in letter and spirit. (ANI)

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