A person’s right to privacy is the
right to be left alone. A citizen has the right to safeguard the privacy of
himself and his family. This right can extend to all aspects of an individual’s
personal life (as opposed to things that the public may have an interest in
knowing). It follows that a person in the public spotlight (be it as a
politician or celebrity) will enjoy a degree of protection that is less than
that applicable to the common man.
Every person has the right to enjoy his life without any
interference. However, the degree of right to privacy varies from
person to person. A public figure, who functions under public gaze as an
emissary/representative of the public cannot expect to be afforded the same
degree of privacy as a private person.Media can bring the acts of these
personalities to public knowledge.
The acts of public personalities are not afforded the same level of protection.
The public has a right to know about the acts and conducts of the public
officials as they work for the benefit of the public. Therefore if the acts and
conduct of the public person are of public interest even if conducted in private
they may be brought to public knowledge through the medium of the press.
The media person has however, a corresponding duty to ensure that the information about
such acts and conduct of public interest of the public person is obtained
through fair means. It should be properly verified and then reported
accurately.
A public personality has to pay the price for being in the
eye 0f the public. However, this does not mean that the media can publish any
information it receives. The information has to be verifiable and accurate. The
essential ingredient required for the publication is that it has to in public
interest.
Any information which is not available in the public domain
is termed as private. Private information can be related to the family, education, marriage of
the person or any other personal information.
The Right to Information Act defines information as any material in any form, and information relating to
any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other
law for the time being in force. This information is public information. Any
other information would be termed as private information.
The
perception regarding what is private information varies from person to person.
But whether the objection will be sustained or not will depend upon the facts
and circumstances of the case. If information regarding the private individual
is accessible by a public authority then it would be public information.
Moreover, if any private information is published in the larger interest of the
public then the objection would not be upheld by the concerned authorities.
The maintenance of privacy is important for every
individual. Thus, if information is disclosed merely on the fact that people
want to know about that issue then the right to privacy has no meaning. The
only justification for breach of privacy in such a case is where the publication
of information was in public interest. The interest of the public must outweigh
the individual interest.
A journalist cannot publish information only on the demand
of the public. If he does so then he can be held liable for breach of privacy
by the person. The larger interest of the public has to be necessary for
avoiding liability.
To prevent breach of privacy there are certain steps which
the journalist can take. The journalist has to verify whether or not the
information is in public domain. If not, then the publication of the private
information can be done only after the person regarding whom the information
has given his consent for publication of the information. Where the consent is
not obtained then the publication of the private information can only be done
in the case where the protection of the public interest outweighs the
protection of the right to privacy.
