The lawsuit was started after Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, a former Karnataka High Court judge, filed a petition in regard to the Aadhaar Project, which was handled by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The Aadhaar number was a 12-digit identifying number given to Indian citizens by the UIDAI. The key issue in this case was whether the right to privacy was a basic right under India’s Constitution’s Part III.

Privacy was declared a unique and independent basic right under Article 21 of the Constitution by the Supreme Court in six different rulings. The heart of the ruling outlined a wide view of the right to privacy: it was not limiting protection against physical invasion, nor a derived right under Article 21, but one that included the body and intellect, encompassing decisions, choices, knowledge, and freedom. Part III of the Constitution was found to provide an overarching, enforceable, and multidimensional right to privacy. The extent of the right was debated in detail in the various opinions.

The Supreme Court of India’s Right to Privacy ruling, formally known as Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. versus Union Of India And Ors, is a historic case that states that the right to privacy is protected as a basic right under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.

On August 24, 2017, a 9-judge Supreme Court bench gave a unanimous judgement in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India and several related proceedings, upholding that each individual has a basic right to privacy under the Indian Constitution.