The Bombay High Court has directed its registry to anonymise the identity of an environment and climate change consultant in all online court records related to a criminal case that was later quashed, reaffirming that the constitutional right to privacy includes the "right to be forgotten".

A Division Bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nivedita P. Mehta observed that the right to privacy is a well-established fundamental right under the Constitution and that the right to be forgotten forms an integral part of that protection.

The Bench emphasised that although access to information is a cornerstone of a democratic society, it must be balanced against an individual's right to privacy.

"This is especially when after the quashing of the proceedings, no public interest can be served by keeping the information alive on the internet," the Nagpur Bench observed.

The Court was hearing a petition seeking directions to the Registrar General of the High Court to mask the petitioner's name and personal identifiers from the online versions of court orders passed in 2018.

The petitioner had earlier approached the High Court for anticipatory bail in connection with a criminal case. The FIR, registered in 2017, was subsequently quashed after the parties reached an amicable settlement.

Despite the criminal proceedings being set aside, the petitioner argued that unredacted district court records remained publicly available online and continued to be indexed by search engines.

Invoking his rights to privacy, reputation and the right to be forgotten, the petitioner submitted that these records frequently surfaced during professional and educational background checks. He contended that this "algorithmic permanence" had adversely affected his career prospects while also causing social stigma to his family, including his minor daughter.

Accepting the plea, the High Court directed its registry to anonymise the petitioner's identity in all relevant digital records and ensure that his name no longer appears in search results linked to the case.

The Court further ordered that, going forward, the petitioner's name should not appear in the cause title, pleadings, citations, judgments or orders connected to the matter. Instead, he will be identified only as "ABC."

Advocate S.B. Tiwari represented the petitioner, while Additional Public Prosecutor V.A. Thakare appeared for the State and the High Court Registry.

Case Title ; ABC v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.