From Paper to Portal: Constitutional Validity of Digital Government Approvals in India

Abstract

India’s quick transformation towards digital governance has completely revolutionized the way of working of governance processes as they move from the Older-paper-based approach to more sophisticated, faster, and efficient processes through technology. The use of digital means in making decisions related to governance by using government approvals for licenses, permits, certificates, among others, is crucial for e-governance. While this approach is associated with many advantages, there are important constitutional issues that need to be addressed here. The aim of this research paper is to test the constitutionality of electronic systems of government approvals in India, more particularly the compliance of such systems with the Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. This article provides for equal protection under the law and non-arbitrary state action and can be applied in the case of digital technologies and algorithms. Despite claims about objectivity and neutrality associated with technology, its opacity along with unequal distribution of technology access might lead to discrimination and arbitrary treatment by the system. Thus, the neutrality of technology does not always imply equality of rights of rights, at least not in the context of the socio-economic situations in India. Moreover, Article 21 is analyzed in this paper, which includes the right to life and personal liberty along with rights to privacy and procedural justice. In th light of the case law established in K.S Puttaswamy V. Union of India, in which privacy was declared to be a fundamental right in India, the paper evaluates the consequences of massive collection, processing, and storage of information through digital governance tools. The paper raises several concerns associated with surveillance and data security, in the light of new technological advancements and centralized data collection system. Furthermore, the paper discusses the problem of violation of procedural due process in automatic systems of decision-making. The Study examines the question of the digital divide as a problem of constitutional law, noting the fact that lack of technological access, low levels of digital literacy, and poor infrastructure have negative impacts on disadvantaged populations. Digital segregation not only violates the idea of quality in public services access but also questions the validity of a government that is not available to all citizens. The other issues that research focuses on include the existing legal framework about the process of online approvals and the emerging data protection regulations. The author suggests that the legal validity may not be enough for the process to be constitutional. Based on an in-depth examination of some important concepts from administrative law, certain deficiencies are highlighted. Although digital governance is an inescapable and indispensable development in the administrative process, it needs to align itself with the constitution to ensure that efficiency does not undermine fundamental rights. This paper calls for a pragmatic and holistic approach in which regulation, transparency in algorithms, mechanisms for dealing with grievances, and bridging the digital divide need to be taken into consideration, it is only through such reforms that digital government approvals will have legal and constitutional legitimacy in India.