Right To Reputation: Kerala HC Issues Notice To Google, The New Indian Express On Plea To Redact Name & Images Of Man Acquitted In Cheating Case

A plea has been moved in the Kerala High Court by a person who was acquitted in a cheating case, seeking to redact his name and other identities from the public domain. 

A Single Judge Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan on Thursday issued notices to the Central, State Governments, Google and The New Indian Express.

The petitioner said that he is aggrieved that despite him having been acquitted in a cheating case, there are several news articles and images of him on the internet with the heading 'Man Held For Handing Over Invalid Cheque to Shop'. 

The petitioner claims that despite him having approached the respondents for redacting his name and images from the internet, they turned a blind eye to his request. He avers that the display of his name and images on the internet amounts to violation of his right to privacy and right to reputation which are guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. 

The petitioner submits that 'reputation' is an inseparable element of an individual's personality and the same cannot be allowed to be tarnished in the name of right to freedom of speech and expression. He adds that the right to free speech does not mean a right to offend. 

"Reputation of a person is neither metaphysical nor a property in terms of mundane assets but an integral part of his sublime frame and a dent in it is a rupture of a person's dignity, negates and infringes fundamental values of citizenry right," the plea states. 

The petitioner thus emphasizes that the right to free speech and expression enshrined under Article 19(1)(a) would have to be balanced with the right to privacy and reputation enshrined under Article 21. 

The petitioner avers that a judgment of acquittal grants the accused the right to get an automatic expungement of his name from all records, and particularly, from those in the public domain. 

"It is humbly submitted that there is no doubt with regard to the fact that the moment the Judge records an order of acquittal, the identity of a person as an accused is completely wiped out," the plea further states.

It is on these grounds that the petitioner has sought his name and images on online portals to be redacted and a direction to be issued to Google to unindex the links in the web pages and secure his right to privacy. 

The plea has been moved through Advocates Sandeep R.N., B. Muhammed Shaheel, and Keerthi Vijayan. 

Case Title: SSH (name withheld) v. Union of India & Ors. 

Case Number: WP(C) 24615 of 2023