New Delhi: The framework of the data protection law is ready and will be put up for public consultation next week, Justice BN Srikrishna, chairperson of the committee drafting the concept paper, said on Wednesday.
A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Srikrishna said the 220-page document would lay down the guidelines on the basis of which the government would frame the law. “By next week, we will place the framework within the public domain for deliberation. We want people to respond to it," he said.
He said the importance of consent in the process of data collection would be the cornerstone on which the law would be built. “Key areas are whether data should be taken with consent or without consent and for what purpose will it be used. What happens when there is a data breach? What provisions can be relied upon?” he said.
The 10-member panel, formed under the ministry of electronics and Information Technology, has been holding regular meetings since August this year after the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court referred to the importance of the pending framework in its landmark Right to Privacy verdict.
Justice Srikrishna said India was in urgent need of a data protection law as the current laws weren't sufficient.
“There is an executive order provision under the Information Technology Act, but there needs to be a basic law. That law would be the Data Protection Act. It would have to see why data is collected, can the data be used by private parties, what will be the cost on rights, what should the court do and what should be the responsibility of the person who collects the data,” the former Apex court judge, who also headed a special commission post 1992 Mumbai riots, said.
The panel, in its paper, has identified several data protection issues and recommended methods to address them. It will also likely suggest a draft Data Protection Bill.
Members on the panel include Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, Rama Vedashree, CEO, Data Security Council of India, Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM, Indore and Rajat Moona, director, IIT, Raipur. Recently, the chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, also sent guidelines on data privacy to the committee.
When asked about the probable effect of the framework on Aadhaar, Justice Srikrishna maintained that the data protection law is needed whether there is Aadhaar or no Aadhaar. "Applicability of the framework to Aadhaar is a different. The data protection law will have to be brought in whether there is Aadhaar or no Aadhaar. However, this matter is sub-judice and does not merit my comment," he said.
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