Reality TV star Ashutosh Kaushik, who won Bigg Boss in
2008 and MTV Roadies 5.0, wants all photographs and videos of him and articles
about him to be removed from the internet. The television star has approached
the Delhi High Court to the effect citing his “Right to be Forgotten”, reports
The Indian Express.

In his plea, Kaushik says that the “right to be
forgotten” is in sync with the “right to privacy” which is an integral part of
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which deals with the right to life.

Ashutosh Kaushik’s plea

Kaushik, in his plea, states that posts and videos about
him on the internet cause him “psychological pain for his diminutive acts, which
were erroneously committed a decade ago as the recorded videos, photos,
articles of the same are available on various search engines/online platforms”.

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A single judge bench of Justice Rekha Palli of the
Delhi High Court heard the matter on Thursday and the next hearing is scheduled
for August 20.

The Right to be Forgotten

The Right to be Forgotten, in the Indian context,
falls under the purview of an individual’s right to privacy. It is governed by
the Personal Data Protection Bill that is yet to be passed by Parliament.

The Supreme Court has declared Right to Privacy a
fundamental right in 2017.

The Personal Data Protection Bill, introduced in the
Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019, aims to set out provisions meant for the
protection of the personal data of individuals.

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Chapter V clause 20 of this draft bill titled “Rights
of Data Principal” mentions the “Right to be Forgotten”.

The clause states that the “data principal (the person
to whom the data is related) shall have the right to restrict or prevent the
continuing disclosure of his personal data by a data fiduciary.

What will this right allow?

Under the Right to be Forgotten, users can de-link,
limit, delete or correct the disclosure of their personal information held by
data fiduciaries. A data fiduciary means any person, including the State, a company,
any juristic entity or any individual who alone or in conjunction with others
determines the purpose and means of processing of personal data.

Do other countries recognise this right?

The “right to be forgotten” gained prominence when the
matter was referred to the Court of Justice of European Union (CJEC) in 2014 by
a Spanish Court.

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In the European Union, individuals can ask
organisations to delete their personal data. The right is provided under EU’s
General Data Protection Regulation.

However, in a landmark ruling, the EU’s highest court
said in 2019 that the “right to be forgotten” under European law would not
apply to the borders of EU member states.