Privacy is a fundamental right, the centre said today in the Supreme Court, but emphasized that it is a qualified one and is secondary to the right to life, should there be a conflict between the two. The government has so far argued that privacy is not a basic right in the constitution and therefore cannot be applied to the Aadhaar programme for which the fingerprints and iris scans of millions of Indians have been recorded.

"Every aspect of it does not qualify as a fundamental right, as privacy also includes the subtext of liberty," said the centre's lawyer KK Venugopal.

A nine-judge constitution bench is considering whether privacy is a fundamental right of every citizen in a case that could have implications for Aadhaar.

It was not just about Aadhaar, the court said repeatedly, adding: "Don't forget the right to privacy of the little man."

The government put up a strong defence of the Aadhaar programme which, it said, had been praised by the World Bank and held up as an example for developing countries.