The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022 may have forgotten about the Right to be Forgotten (RTBF), the Kerala High Court certainly has not. Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Shoba Annamma Eapen on December 22, 2022 disposed nine writ petitions making the following judgements regarding RTBF: Public records of people in case of criminal proceedings cannot be erased forever RTBF can be exercised for family/ matrimonial disputes, if the parties make such a request Reporting and publishing of judgements, even with personal information, is a part of free speech The Court, in appropriate cases, may allow parties to erase and delete personal data online Why it matters: Time and again, people have cited their right to remove their personal information and its association with court cases/incidents. There’s a case of a certain Roadies winner asking the Delhi Court to remove photos, videos and similar media that presented him in a bad light. MediaNama too has faced such situations where individuals have demanded that we take down articles with their personal information. Most of us hoped that the introduction of the DPDP Bill would provide some clarity on this front. Instead, the RTBF has been completely removed from the latest Bill. So, it is a fitting end to 2022 – with its many major updates relating to the digital space – to conclude with this decision of the court looking at these nine cases. Petitioners here wanted their information removed from court judgements and orders from various online portals as…
