Man urges Bombay High Court to mask name in online court orders to protect privacy, marriage prospects

A 29-year-old man from Maharashtra has approached the Bombay High Court seeking directions to mask his name from order copies available online which were being thrown up on Google search. .The orders in a rent dispute, which were appearing while searching online via Google search engine, affects his marriage prospects and violates his right to privacy, it was contended. Advocate Mayank Bagla, representing the petitioner, submitted before the bench on Tuesday that since the petitioner is a young individual, the presence of such information not only affects his marriage prospects but also his credibility. The division bench of Justice BP Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla will take up the matter in two weeks..As per the praecipe filed through advocate Prerak Choudhary, "the erroneous mention of the petitioner's mother as his wife" in the court order has led to significant personal repercussions. "Due to the above, for anybody searching the petitioner's name on Google, it appears as if the petitioner is a married man, which is also defeating and/or delaying his marriage prospects.".The petitioner cited the landmark KS Puttaswamy vs Union of India judgement of the Supreme Court, which established that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India includes the right to privacy. As per the petitioner, court orders should not be available on search engines unless explicitly marked as reportable by the court.The underlying dispute arose from a leave and licence agreement which was resolved in favour of the petitioner. Despite the favourable outcome, the continued online presence of these orders, especially those containing typographical errors, infringes upon his right to be forgotten, the petitioner has contended."It is against the petitioner's right to privacy that judicial proceedings which are not marked reportable by the court are shown on Google search, causing undue damage to the petitioner's reputation in the eyes of the public at large," he submitted on Tuesday..He said that the Court should urgently address this issue to prevent ongoing harm to his reputation and personal relationships.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.