Supreme Court Agrees to Examine Accused’s ‘Right to be Forgotten’ After Acquittal

The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to examine a matter concerning the right to be forgotten for an accused who seeks the removal of judgments containing their name from the public domain, noting that this could have “serious ramifications.”

A bench led by CJI D. Y. Chandrachud also stayed a judgment from the Madras High Court, which had instructed a law portal to remove from its website a verdict that had acquitted an individual in a rape case.

“The judgments are part of public records, and court orders to remove them will have serious implications,” CJI remarked. The bench questioned, “Assuming a person is acquitted, how can the high court direct the portal to remove the judgment? Once a judgment is delivered, it becomes part of the public record.”

The court was considering an appeal filed by the “India Kanoon” portal against the Madras High Court’s order that mandated the removal of the judgment from its website. This decision by the high court was in response to a plea from Karthick Theodore.

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