Landmark Judgements Concerning Human Rights and Criminal Law 1. 2. 3. 4. JUSTICE K. S. PUTTASWAMY (RETD.) AND Anr. v. UNION OF INDIA a. (2017) 10 SCC 1. b. The debate on privacy and the nature of the right resulted in the hon’ble Court ruling that ‘Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy’. NAVTEJ SINGH JOHAR & ORS. v. UNION OF INDIA THR. SECRETARY MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE a. WP(Crl.)No.76/2016WP (Crl.) No. 76 /2016 b. As the Right to Privacy was upheld, the discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation was observed as the deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual JOSEPH SHINE v. UNION OF INDIA a. Section 497 of the IPC is prima facie unconstitutional on the ground that it discriminates against men and violates Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. b. The said proviso is also hit by the Justice Puttaswamy case which holds that sexual privacy is an integral part of ‘right to privacy.’ c. Section 198 (2) of CrPC is also violative of Article 14, 15 and 21 of Constitution of India since it excludes women from prosecuting anyone engaging in adultery. COMMON CAUSE (A REGISTERED SOCIETY) v. UNION OF INDIA, 2018 a. 5. Right to Life envisaged in Art. 21 also encompasses within its sphere individual dignity, which includes within its sphere the right to die with dignity in case of a terminally ill patient or a person in passive vegetative state (PVS) with no scope of recovery. NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICE AUTHORITY v. UNION OF INDIA (2014) a. Recognition of transgender persons as a third gender. 57