In Landmark Order, Supreme Court Says Digital Access A Fundamental Right

Digital access is a fundamental right and the State must ensure digital accessibility for everyone, including those from rural areas and the society's marginalised sections, the Supreme Court ruled today. The bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan passed the landmark judgment on two Public Interest Litigations, including one by an acid attack survivor in which she cited the problems she faced during the Know Your Customer (KYC) process at a bank.

Bridging the digital divide, the court said, is no longer a matter of policy discretion but has become a constitutional imperative to secure a life of dignity.

"At this juncture, we may also wish to observe that in the contemporary era, where access to essential services, governance, education, healthcare, and economic opportunities is increasingly mediated through digital platforms, the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution must be reinterpreted in light of these technological realities.

"The digital divide - characterized by unequal access to digital infrastructure, skills, and content - continues to perpetuate systemic exclusion, not only of persons with disabilities, but also of large sections of rural populations, senior citizens, economically weaker communities, and linguistic minorities. The principle of substantive equality demands that digital transformation be both inclusive and equitable," the court said.

The court noted that access to essential services such as healthcare is now largely mediated through digital platforms. So, the right to life under Article 21 should be interpreted in light of technological realities, it said. The court has issued 20 directions to the State to make the KYC process more inclusive and stressed that it was "imperative" that guidelines are revised.

One of PILs before the court related to an acid attack survivor who suffered severe eye disfigurement and facial damage. In July 2023, she approached a bank to open an account. She could not complete the Digital KYC process, during which the bank said they needed to capture a live photograph in which she blinked.

The petition said that the mandatory requirement of proving that a customer is alive under the RBI-regulated process can only be fulfilled when he/she blink before the camera. The bank later made an exception for the petitioner following an uproar on social media. The petitioner Pragya Prasun said many acid attack survivors like her face similar issues and sought directions to the Centre to issue fresh guidelines on how such people can get through the KYC process.

"As already pointed out, persons with disabilities encounter unique barriers in accessing online services due to the lack of accessible websites, applications and assistive technologies. Similarly, individuals in remote or rural areas often face poor connectivity, limited digital literacy, and a scarcity of content in regional languages, effectively denying them meaningful access to e-governance and welfare delivery systems," it said.

"In such circumstances, the State's obligations under Article 21- read in conjunction with Articles 14,15 and 38 of the Constitution - must encompass the responsibility to ensure that digital infrastructure, government portals, online learning platforms, and financial technologies are universally accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of all vulnerable and marginalized populations. Bridging the digital divide is no longer merely a matter of policy discretion but has become a constitutional imperative to secure a life of dignity, autonomy and equal participation in public life. The right to digital access, therefore, emerges as an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty, necessitating that the State proactively design and implement inclusive digital ecosystems that serve not only the privileged but also the marginalized, those who have been historically excluded," the court said in its judgment. Justice Mahadevan penned the order and his brother judge, Justice Pardiwala, complimented him, saying it is "brilliant".