Digital access a fundamental right, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the right to digital access is a fundamental right and that digital access is an intrinsic component of the right to life under Article 21, reported Bar and Bench. 

The court’s remarks came while issuing a slew of directions to ease the know-your-customer, or the KYC, process for acid attack survivors and others suffering visual impairment.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan was reportedly hearing two PILs on making the KYC process accessible to those with facial disfigurements and those with disabilities. 

According to Bar and Bench, the court held that the Constitution guaranteed that digital processes such as KYC were to be made universally accessible to all under Articles 21 (right to life and liberty), 14 (right to equality) and 15 (protection against discrimination).

One of the petitions said that many acid attack survivors suffering from severe facial damage or eye-disfigurement face issues with completing digital KYC for opening bank accounts. The petition sought fresh guidelines to be issued to the union government on alternative means to conduct the digital KYC process.

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