Gurugram: In a significant order reinforcing the right to be forgotten, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the redaction of a man’s name from the e-courts portal after he was exonerated in a criminal case.
“The remnants should not be allowed to haunt a person who has been exonerated by the court of his guilt,” the Punjab and Haryana high court observed while directing its Registry to remove the man’s name from records after an FIR against him was quashed.
The petitioner, a corporate professional from Gurugram with 20 years’ experience in India and the US, claimed that despite successfully clearing job interviews in multinational companies, he was denied offer letters because his name continued to figure as an accused in a criminal case on the e-court’s portal.
The petitioner had been falsely implicated in an FIR registered in April 2024 at Gurugram’s Cyber Cell West police station under Sections 384 (extortion) and 419 (cheating by impersonation) of the IPC, along with Sections 66-C and 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The case, involving a disputed amount of Rs 3,000, was quashed by the high court in September 2024, followed by the discharge of his bail bonds in October 2024.
Despite his acquittal, the petitioner was unable to secure jobs with multinational companies like PayPal and Wells Fargo, as his name continued to appear on the e-court’s portal during background verification.
After considering his submission, the court acknowledged that although an FIR had been registered against the petitioner, all legal proceedings stemming from the case had been quashed by the high court.
Justice N.S. Shekhawat, while passing the order, stated, “When a person has been exonerated by the court of his guilt, the remnants of such charge should not be allowed to haunt any such person.”
The court observed that continued availability of such information would violate the individual’s right to privacy and dignity, which are enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Justice N.S. Shekhawat emphasised that with the quashing of the FIR, no case or legal action related to the matter was pending in any court, making it unjust for the petitioner to continue facing repercussions due to outdated digital records.
Citing a landmark Supreme Court judgment in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India case, the court upheld the petitioner’s right to be forgotten and directed both the HC registry and the district court, Gurugram, to remove his name from all public platforms.
It further directed the Registries of both the courts to show the name of the petitioner as “ABCD”.
The court further instructed search engines and social media portals to mask the petitioner’s name wherever it appeared in connection with the case.
While directing the petitioner to approach other platforms and search engines to mask his name, the court said, “Whenever, the petitioner applies or approaches any social media or search engine, it is expected that they would also respect the ‘right to privacy’ and ‘right to be forgotten’ of the petitioner and shall remove any other material, which may be on the record, pertaining to the court proceedings of FIR.”
(Edited by Sudha V)
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