Alia Bhatt's Pic Controversy: In Privacy vs Publicity Debate, Here's Where The Law Stands

Alia Bhatt recently lashed out at the news outlet ETimes for sharing her picture on its Instagram account where the actor is sitting in her living room. “This is a gross invasion of privacy,” the ‘Darlings’ actor stated.

Photographed By Employee Of Media House

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A post shared by @varindertchawla

Photographer Varinder Chawla has sought to clear the air around the post shared by ETimes. He said the image was not clicked by any paparazzi but by employees of the media house. He wrote in a caption on Instagram that no one among the paps would cross such a line and requested everyone to not believe that the image is clicked by them.

'All Lines Were Crossed'

Taking to her Instagram stories, Alia Bhatt shared the watermarked images by ETimes and wrote, “Are you kidding me? I was at my house having a perfectly normal afternoon sitting in my living room when I felt something watching me.”

She asked, “I looked up and saw two men on the terrace of my neighbouring building with a camera right at me! In what world is this okay and allowed?”.

Further, she wrote, “There is a line you just cannot cross and it’s safe to say all lines were crossed today!” She tagged Mumbai Police requesting their intervention in the case.

Celebrities Reaction

Arjun Kapoor

Sharing Alia Bhatt’s Insta story, many celebrities reacted in her support. Arjun Kapoor called the photo-clocking “absolutely shameless”. He pointed out that it was crossing all limits if a woman was not feeling safe at her house, “forget that she is a public figure,” he added.

He also said that a person taking photographs of celebrities for a living must know that it was out of line and pathetic. He said that actors trust mediapersons to do their job without making a woman feel unsafe or invading her privacy. “This is nothing short of stalking,” the actor said.

Shaheen Bhatt

Author, screenwriter and Alia’s sister Shaheen Bhattrhetorically asked, “So it’s totally cool to point zoom lenses into people’s homes while hiding in neighbouring buildings for content now?”

She pointed out that grown men with cameras were hiding across the road and took surreptitious photos of an unaware woman without her consent in her home. She also pointed out that the person in the photograph might be a celebrity, but it was not okay to do that. She also added that if it was any other person in place of Alia, it would have been a case of harassment and a complete assault on privacy.

“This lack of basic human decency is honestly terrifying,” she said.

Anushka Sharma

In support of Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma said that two years ago, some paparazzi did the same to her, and she and her husband, cricketer Virat Kohli, called them out for it. “You’d think it would have made them more respectful of people’s space and privacy,” she added.

The actor also mentioned the incident where her daughter Vamika was clicked by paps despite the couple’s repeated requests to not click her.

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Comments On ETimes Post

Despite many people flagging it, ETimes did not delete the post. Fashion Designer Riddhima Kapoor Sahni commented, “This is not cool guys!!! So wrong!”

Actor Mini Mathur also wrote, “This is ridiculous. An actor spotted ‘chilling’ in her own home isn’t news or entertainment… just harassment!!! Ugh!.”

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Legal Aspect

We connected with Advocate Nitin Yadav, the practising lawyer at the Delhi High Court. He said that it was right for actors to call it an invasion of privacy. While there is no separate law for it, it could be taken up under Article 19 (1) (d) of the Indian Constitution that talks about the right to privacy. The Supreme Court has also said in the Justice KS puttaswamy Vs Union Of India (2017) that right to privacy is implicit under Article 21, which guarantees protection of life and liberty to every citizen of the country.

We also spoke to Madhu Gadodia, Deputy Managing Partner – Naik Naik & Co.She said, "Anything done by celebrities is highly publicized and disseminated to audiences in the form of ‘news’. While this is acceptable in most cases, there is a boundary which must not be crossed."

She also said that the apex court has also observed on various occasions that every individual in India has the right to control the depiction of their image and commercial use of their identity. In the case of celebrities, there has to be a balance between what information is available for the consumption of the public and what is not.

Considering the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 354C that deals with voyeurism, taking pictures of a person’s private parts. Both experts agree that it would not upheld in this case.

Advocate Yadav also pointed out that even if a person is clicking a celebrity’s photo, they need to ask their permission. “It looks like a spy sits over her neighbour’s terrace.”

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