‘Right to Privacy’ is protected under which Article of the Constitution of India?

Answer: (c) Article 21

The Supreme Court held in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (24 August 2017) that the right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21. It also forms part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.

• ✓ (c) Article 21 says no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The nine-judge bench read privacy into this right, overruling earlier decisions (M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh) to the extent they denied it.
• ✗ (a) Article 15 is the equality guarantee against discrimination by the State on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or birthplace. Privacy is not derived from it.
• ✗ (b) Article 19 protects freedoms such as speech and movement. The Court said privacy also draws on the Part III freedoms, but its main anchor is Article 21, which is the answer sought.
• ✗ (d) Article 29 protects the interests of minorities in their language, script and culture; it has nothing to do with privacy.

Remember · Right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 (Puttaswamy, 2017), and is subject to reasonable restrictions.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error