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What is 'right to be forgotten' that ex-MTV Roadie Ashutosh Kaushik has sought from court?
Before Ashutosh Kaushik, Jorawar Singh Mundy had approached the court with a similar demand and got interim right to be forgotten from the internet.
Television personality Ashutosh Kaushik who shot to fame in 2007 after winning MTV Roadies and then Bigg Boss in the next year has recently approached the Delhi high court seeking his 'right to be forgotten. In legal parlance, this means he wants his digital data to be deleted from Google and any other online platform. Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to the ministry of information and broadcasting, Google LLC, Press Council of India and Electronic Media Monitoring Centre to respond to the petitioner’s invocation of the rights to privacy.
What is right to be forgotten? Is there any such provision in Indian law?
This is not the first time that someone has approached the court seeking this right.
For example, an American citizen of Indian origin, Jorawar Singh Mundy, approached the Delhi high court a few months ago saying that he was not getting a job because of an old case, details of which were available on Google. The Delhi high court allowed an interim right to be forgotten to the person.
Read: Reality show winner invokes ‘right to be forgotten’, moves HC
There is no such provision in Indian laws but Section 20 of the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 says that an individual has the right to restrict or prevent the disclosure of their personal data under certain conditions, including when such data has served the purpose for which it was collected or is no longer necessary for the purpose. This Bill is yet to become law.
What Orissa high court said on right to be forgotten
According to reports, the Orissa high court in 2020 mentioned the issue of the right to be forgotten and said that if there is no such right to erase electronic data in specific cases, then "any accused will surreptitiously outrage the modesty of a woman and misuse the same in cyberspace unhindered." This was regarding a case where the accused uploaded videos of his former partner that he surreptitiously recorded .
Why Asutosh Kaushik wants to be forgotten
Asutosh Kaushik wants his drunk driving videos dating back to 2009 to be removed from online platforms. For driving under the influence of alcohol and without a helmet, he was arrested. Asutosh Kaushik presently runs a YouTube channel and he tied the knot last year during the lockdown.
