The Delhi High Court delivered a key judgment in Laksh Vir Singh Yadav v. Union of India & Connected Matters, addressing the right to be forgotten (RTBF) in India. The ruling recognises RTBF as part of informational privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution and sets a framework for masking personal identifiers in court orders and restricting name-based discoverability in legal databases and search engines, according to medianama.com.
The Court’s framework permits masking personal details in judicial records and mandates de-indexing of these masked records and related media reports from name-based search results. This approach aims to reduce reputational harm when allegations are disproved or cases are resolved. However, the judgment also highlights tensions with open justice principles, press freedom, archival reporting, and search neutrality, raising complex questions about balancing privacy with public interest.
This ruling marks a significant development in India’s data privacy jurisprudence, especially in light of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act). It addresses challenges posed by digital access to court records long after cases conclude, aligning India’s approach closer to global standards like the GDPR. The decision could influence how personal data is handled in judicial and media contexts, impacting privacy rights and transparency.
The Delhi High Court’s judgment was published in August 2026 and is seen as a foundational case for RTBF in India, shaping future data protection and privacy law enforcement under the DPDP Act, 2023.