On February 16, 2026 , the honourable Supreme Court preliminarily heard admission request of three petitions challenging the different provisions of DPDPA 2023 and the Rules and finally requesting the Court to declare the Act and the rules void because it violates Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
- Venkatesh Nayak v. Union of India, W.P.(C) No. 177/2026;
- The Reporters Collective Trust & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) No. 211/2026; and
- National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information v. Union of India, W.P.(C) No. 212/2026.
While the trigger for the petition is Section 44(3) which amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act 2005 and is effective from 13th November 2025, the petitions have also argued that “Jounralists” should have been exempted from DPDPA and it hasnotbeen done, Government is empoering itself for mass surveillnace, Government is not creating a regulatory body which is independent etc., finally concluding that both the Act and the Rules are to be declared void.
Naavi.org has highlighted one view point on these petitions here: “Summary of the Comments on the petitions filed at Supreme Court on DPDPA”
Naavi has also raised an online petition “I am the Real Public in India and I donot support scrapping of DPDPA and DPDPA Rules” .
Now FDPPI has called for a Round Table Discussion of professionals on “Is DPDPA 2023 unconstitutional?” on 7th March 2023.
This is a virtual conference and any interested person can attend subject to the capacity of the meeting room.
Through this, we want to collect the views of the general public on the issue so that we will have a better perception of what the public think.
Unfortunately in India we the professionals are better arm chair critics and donot want to dirty our hands in such public spirited activities. We therefore know that all persons who support “Protecting DPDPA” and feel that “Petitioners are not the right representatives of the Public” will not participate in the discussions. However, it is the duty of FDPPI to invite the public discussion on this matter before the Supreme Court is set to start further hearing on March 16.
We look forward to a good participation in this debate which will be moderated by Naavi and particiapted by eminent academicians and practicing advocates.
