Privacy is not absolute and cannot prevent the State from making laws imposing reasonable restrictions on citizens, the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday. It noted that ‘right to privacy’ was in fact too “amorphous” a term.

The court said to recognise privacy as a definite right, it had to first define it. But this would be nearly impossible as an element of privacy pervaded all the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

“How do we define privacy? What are its contents? Its contours? How can the State regulate privacy? What obligations do the State have to protect a person’s privacy?” Justice Chandrachud asked the petitioners who have challenged the Aadhaar law on the ground that it affects the privacy of citizens.