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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, MODERN MANAGEMENT, APPLIED SCIENCE & SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJEMMASSS) [ Vol. 8 | No. 3 (III) | July-September, 2026 ]

Fundamental Rights in the Digital Era: Reinterpreting Liberty, Privacy and Dignity

Dr. Disha Bangarva

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has fundamentally altered the manner in which individuals communicate, access information, participate in public life, conduct economic activities, and exercise personal autonomy. The transition from an analogue to a digitally mediated society has consequently transformed the environment in which fundamental rights operate. In India, constitutional guarantees contained in Part III of the Constitution were originally formulated in an era preceding the internet, social media, artificial intelligence, biometric identification, algorithmic decision-making and large-scale data processing. Nevertheless, the constitutional framework has demonstrated considerable capacity to respond to technological change through judicial interpretation, particularly by expanding the meaning of liberty, privacy and dignity under Article 21 of Constitution of India. The Apex Court of India has played an important role in this constitutional transformation. Land mark judgments such as Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India and K.S. Puttaswamy (Aadhaar) v. Union of India have contributed to the development of a fundamental rights-based understanding of digital governance and technological freedom. At the same time, the emergence of artificial intelligence, facial recognition, pervasive surveillance, data profiling, deepfakes, online harassment, misinformation and platform-based censorship presents challenges that cannot always be addressed through traditional interpretations of constitutional rights. This paper examines how fundamental rights and human rights  must be understood in the digital era, with particular emphasis on Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. As these three articles are golden triangle, stated under Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India case.   It argues that digital constitutionalism requires the protection of not merely physical freedom but also informational autonomy, decisional freedom, digital expression, anonymity, personal identity and human dignity. The paper further examines the relationship between privacy and national security, freedom of speech and online regulation, and technological innovation and constitutional accountability. It concludes that technological advancement must remain compatible with constitutional morality, proportionality, transparency, accountability and the dignity of the individual.

Bangarva, D. (2026). Fundamental Rights in the Digital Era: Reinterpreting Liberty, Privacy and Dignity. International Journal of Education, Modern Management, Applied Science & Social Science, 08(03(III)), 175–184. https://doi.org/10.62823/IJEMMASSS/8.3(III).9552
  1. Constitution of India, 1950.
  2. Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
  3. Information Technology Act, 2000.
  4. Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
  5. United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  6. United Nations. (1966). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
  7. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Important Judicial Decisions

  1. Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, (2020) 3 SCC 637.
  2. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1.
  3. K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2019) 1 SCC 1.
  4. Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248.
  5. Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1.
  6. People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, (1997) 1 SCC 301.
  7. Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, (2018) 10 SCC 1.
  8. Joseph Shine v. Union of India, (2019) 3 SCC 39.
  9. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2018) 3 SCC 1.

Books and Scholarly Sources

  1. Austin, G. (1999). Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience. Oxford University Press.
  2. Balkin, J. M. (2018). Free speech in the algorithmic society: Big data, private governance, and new school speech regulation. UC Davis Law Review, 51, 1149–1210.
  3. De Hert, P., & Papakonstantinou, V. (2016). The new General Data Protection Regulation: Still a sound system for the protection of individuals? Computer Law & Security Review, 32(2), 179–194.
  4. Lessig, L. (1999). Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books.
  5. Nissenbaum, H. (2010). Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of Social Life. Stanford University Press.
  6. Solove, D. J. (2008). Understanding Privacy. Harvard University Press.
  7. Westin, A. F. (1967). Privacy and Freedom. Atheneum.

International and Institutional Materials

  1. Council of Europe. (2018). Convention 108+: Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data.
  2. European Union. (2016). General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
  3. United Nations Human Rights Council. (2012). The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.
  4. United Nations Human Rights Council. (2016). The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.
  5. UNESCO. (2021). Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Paris: UNESCO.

DOI:

Article DOI: 10.62823/IJEMMASSS/8.3(III).9552

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.62823/IJEMMASSS/8.3(III).9552


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