The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (March 12, 2026) agreed to examine what constitutes 'personal data' under India’s new digital personal data law, which is being accused of cynically using data privacy to block the right to information.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the need to define ‘public data’ and ‘personal data’ has arisen following the implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 and its corresponding Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025.
What are the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules and when do they apply?
The court issued formal notice to the Union government on a petition jointly filed by journalist Geeta Seshu and the Software Freedom Law Center, represented by senior advocate Indira Jaising and advocate Paras Nath Singh, who said the DPDP laws effectively stall journalists from accessing data of public interest concerning those who hold public offices.
“While enacted under the ostensible objective of protecting personal data, the DPDP laws in effect legalise disproportionate state surveillance, create a compensation vacuum for citizens, dilute the Right to Information, erode the ability of journalists to practice their profession and establish a data protection regulator that is structurally dependent upon the Executive,” the petition said.
