'No dignity without privacy': Kerala High Court orders removal of woman's image from online media

Kochi: Privacy is the Constitutional core of human dignity, the Kerala High Court stressed on Friday as it ordered the removal of images uploaded on online media platforms of a woman victim in an immoral trafficking case.

"Privacy is the ultimate expression of the sanctity of the individual. There cannot be dignity to an individual without privacy. It is a constitutional value founded on fundamental rights. Privacy with its attended values assures dignity to the individual. Dignity is the core which unites fundamental rights. Privacy is the constitutional core of human dignity," the court observed.

Its observation came while considering a plea filed by a woman who claimed that her name, images, identity, and other details were uploaded and published on online media platforms, including YouTube, in connection with a case registered under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

The woman petitioner, along with other women, had been deemed as victims in the case by the police.

The petitioner claimed that after the case was registered, she was illegally exposed to the media and connected to the said case and due to this, she faced a lot of cyber-attacks and humiliation.

The court directed the state police chief to take steps to remove the images of the petitioner from online media platforms and posted the case's next hearing on Tuesday.