Open Access Research Article
FROM CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVACY TO STATUTORY DATA PROTECTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INDIA’S DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT, 2023 AND THE RULES, 2025
Abstract
India moved
from a constitutional principle of privacy
to a data protection statute in a little over
six years. The Supreme Court recognised privacy
as a fundamental right in 2017, Parliament passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act in 2023, and the
Central Government notified the implementing Rules in November 2025. This paper
asks how far the resulting framework carries the constitutional right into practice.
It sets out the structure of the Act and Rules, including their staggered
commencement, and then tests five
features against the standard laid
down in Puttaswamy: the quality
of consent, the breadth of the State’s exemptions, the amendment to the Right to Information Act, the independence of
the Data Protection Board, and the remedies open to an individual whose data is
misused. The paper argues that the framework gives individuals workable
procedural rights against private organisations but weaker protection against the State,
and that its remedies are thinner than those
of the regime it replaces. The study is doctrinal and relies on statutory text, judicial decisions
and official notifications.
The law is stated as on 5 November 2026.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: DASARI DIVYARegistration ID: 1013580 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13580Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India
Article Information
FROM CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVACY TO STATUTORY DATA PROTECTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INDIA’S DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT, 2023 AND THE RULES, 2025
Authors: DASARI DIVYA
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 8
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
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