Can’t disclose identity of electoral bond donors to protect citizen’s right to privacy, Solicitor General tells SC
“Political self-expression, either through voting or donations to one’s preferred party or candidate lies at the heart of the zone of privacy which the government is constitutionally obligated to respect,” Mehta stated in a 123-page note submitted to the Court.
“It is submitted that given the sensitivity involved in expression of one’s political affiliation, there certainly lies a legitimate state interest in protecting the same and in providing reassurance to citizens that lawful expressions of such political affiliation would remain protected and the person concerned would have their privacy respected,” he stated.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta Tuesday told the Supreme Court, which began hearing the constitutional challenge against the electoral bonds scheme, that political affiliation forms the “inner core of a person’s private life” which the State is protecting through the poll bonds.
“Political self-expression, either through voting or donations to one’s preferred party or candidate lies at the heart of the zone of privacy which the government is constitutionally obligated to respect,” Mehta stated in a 123-page note submitted to the Court.
“It is submitted that given the sensitivity involved in expression of one’s political affiliation, there certainly lies a legitimate state interest in protecting the same and in providing reassurance to citizens that lawful expressions of such political affiliation would remain protected and the person concerned would have their privacy respected,” he stated.
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