Consent forms for educational initiatives must include opt-out provisions to protect individuals' right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.

JUDGMENT :

Sashikanta Mishra, J.

'Privacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining a human condition with dignity and respect’- said Bruise Schneier in his book, ‘Schneier on Security’. It is a fundamental human right that protects an individual’s personal information, choices, dignity and freedom from unwarranted surveillance. It is recognized as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. A Five- Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the case of K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India, (2019) 1 SCC 1 held in no uncertain terms that right to privacy being an important fundamental right encompasses various aspects of life. Though not absolute, it can be subject to reasonable restrictions only. The present Writ Petition involves the question of interference with the Petitioners’ right to privacy.

Facts

2. Briefly stated, the Petitioner No.2 represented by her father Petitioner No.1, is a student of K.G.1 in Sai International School, Bhubaneswar. The Petitioner No.1 received a letter dated 28.12.2024 from the school to give his consent for generation of an APAAR ID for his ward. A consent form was enclosed to the said letter. Said letter required the parents to give their consent along with a copy of their Aadhaar Card to the class teacher by 10^th January, 2025 for generation of the APAAR ID. The Petitioners are basically aggrieved by such letter on the ground that it does not provide the parents the right to opt out of the requirement to submit Aadhaar details. According to the Petitioners, the consent form contains several clauses which could infringe their right to privacy, as their personal information could be made available to other entities. It also runs contrary to the stated position of the Ministry of Education, Government of India that the initiative is entirely voluntary in nature. Petitioner No.1 therefore, wrote to the Principal of the School expressing his apprehension and clearly indicating that he would not be granting consent for the creation of an APAAR ID for his daughter (Petitioner No.2). He also indicated that the consent form provided along with the letter dated 28.12.2024 did not provide an option to refuse consent or opt out of the initiative. Since the petitioners did not receive any response, they have approached this Court in the present Writ Petition seeking the following relief:

“It is, therefore, prayed that the writ petition may kindly be allowed and by an appropriate writ, order or direction the Hon’ble Court may be pleased to;

(a) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of a mandamus directing the Opposite Parties to amend the consent form given in Ministry of Education letter dated 11.10.2023 vide Annexure-4 so as to provide parents with the option to opt out of issuance of APAAR ID;

(b) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction declaring that the present consent form for the APAAR initiative is not valid without the provision of an option to refuse consent as this violates Petitioner No. 2’s right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution;

(c) In the alternative, issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of a mandamus directing the Opposite Parties to rescind the Ministry of Education letter dated 11.10.2023 vide Annexure-4 and related instructions/orders directing schools to get APAAR ID issued and issue a new notification, if required, wherein the option to opt out of issuance of APAAR ID is clearly given to parents and displayed in the consent form;

(d) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of a mand