NEW DELHI, 6th February, 2026 :
Breach of privacy and unauthorised access to personal data remain a root cause of numerous cybercrimes. As the Parliament’s Budget Session 2026 gains momentum, India stands on the threshold of a legislative revolution in digital and bodily privacy. The world’s first comprehensive model on Privacy titled- The “Voyeurism (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2024,” a result of 12 years of extensive research by Privacy and Transparency Law Reformer Dhyananjay Madwanna and the World Anti Voyeurism Forum, i.e. WAVF, is now listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha.
When thousands of women’s private medical videos from a Gujarat hospital were stolen and uploaded to porn sites, the country was horrified. The harm becomes irreparable once such highly sensitive personal data enters the dark web. For Advocate Dhyananjay Madwanna, known as a Privacy and Transparency Law Reformer, it was the nightmare he had spent over a decade trying to prevent.
A 41-year-old practising advocate based in Sangli, Maharashtra; Dhyananjay Madwanna has been selflessly and voluntarily working and conducting research on the subjects of anti-voyeurism, privacy and balanced transparency rights since 2013, filing multiple RTI applications that later became the foundation of his research and NGO namely World Anti Voyeurism Forum, i.e. WAVF.
His 12-year pursuit culminated in the landmark research book “You Are Being Secretly Watched with Model Law on Privacy -The Voyeurism (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2024.” This book is authored by Dhyananjay Madwanna and published by his NGO – WAVF, as it’s an official product. Through this book, they proposed the world’s first comprehensive Model Law on Right to Privacy, comprising around 160 sections as one of its chapters within the book.
Indian National Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, upon receiving the book and the ready-to-introduce Bill contained therein, promptly recognised its merit and significance. He instructed party Members of Parliament to initiate the process for its introduction in both Houses of Parliament. Accordingly, Shri K. C. Venugopal and Dr Syed Naseer Hussain applied to the Parliamentary Secretariat to introduce the Bill in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, respectively.
After undergoing the requisite procedural scrutiny, the Bill was included in the business agendas of both Houses. In February 2025, during the budget session, the meticulously drafted and ready-to-enact Bill, derived from the book, received unanimous voice votes from the Members of Parliament of various parties present in the House for its introduction in the Rajya Sabha as a Private Member’s Bill and thereby it was introduced successfully. This marks a rare achievement in which the independent and voluntary research of a single lawyer, out of nearly 22 lakh advocates in India, evolved into a national legislative initiative. It is the longest Private Member’s Bill ever introduced in the Indian Parliament. The Bill is also now listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha during the current budget session 2026.
Voyeurism is not limited to individual harm; it may also pose risks to national security. The case of a senior DRDO scientist leaking sensitive information to a Pakistani female spy illustrates how compromised privacy can be exploited for espionage.
The Gujarat case proved exactly why his law is needed. The hospital’s CCTV system, reportedly left unsecured, was hacked, and the intimate footage of women patients was traded across international porn platforms. What happened in Rajkot was not an accident; it was a failure of vigilance, regulation and respect for women’s dignity.
After this incident, the country was further horrified by a series of cases in which hidden cameras were discovered in hotels, honeymoon suites, shopping mall washrooms and girls’ hostels. In several instances, women were blackmailed using private videos, while the most widespread and alarming privacy violation emerged in the form of financial cyber fraud through the misuse of personal data.
Dhyananjay Madwanna, as the Founder and Director of the World Anti Voyeurism Forum (WAVF), has been tirelessly advocating for privacy protection. The Right to Privacy was recognised as a fundamental right in India by the landmark judgement in K. S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) and is implied under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Internationally, privacy is also recognised as a human right. However, a right without an effective statutory remedy remains largely ineffective.
At present, no country has enacted an all-inclusive and preventive privacy statute. To address this gap, Dhyananjay Madwanna authored and proposed, through his NGO, a comprehensive Model Law on Privacy titled “The Voyeurism (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2024”. This Bill is designed with a strong emphasis on prevention before punishment.
In contrast, the Information Technology Act, 2000 primarily governs electronic commerce, while the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act focus on punishment after the commission of an offence rather than preventive safeguards. Although India has enacted and partially brought into force the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), it cannot be regarded as a fully comprehensive privacy law. The DPDP Act focuses on data management and is primarily intended to prevent the misuse of personal data consensually provided by its owner for a specific purpose in the digital ecosystem. Notably, the term ‘privacy’ is absent from both the DPDP Act and its rules, raising a fundamental question – how can it function as a privacy statute? On the other hand, “The Voyeurism (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2024” proposes a far broader and holistic framework, addressing violations arising from non-consensual intrusion into personal space, both physical and digital. From government surveillance to corporate data tracking, this bill protects common people under constant observation.
The Bill proposes comprehensive measures, including:
✔️ 1. Introducing new legal definitions
✔️ 2. Solution for physical, digital and online Privacy threats
✔️ 3. Provisions for nonconsensual digital abuse
✔️ 4. Provisions against Deepfake and Misuse of AI
✔️ 5. Provisions against Stalking, Eavesdropping, sextortion, up-skirt, revenge porn and aggressive paparazzi
✔️ 6. Setting privacy standards and Standard Mark
✔️ 7. Provisions for establishments and sensitive service providers
✔️ 8. Establishment of separate Bureaus and three tier system
✔️ 9. Licensing and certification for online and offline privacy assurances
✔️ 10. Mandatory strict oversight of surveillance systems
✔️ 11. Effective takedown mechanisms
✔️ 12. Striking off copyright over voyeuristic material
✔️ 13. Gender-neutral provisions & protection to the third gender
✔️ 14. Special protection for vulnerable groups and soft targets like children, women, disabled persons and foreign tourists
✔️ 15. Compensation provisions for victims
✔️ 16. New investigation mechanisms and procedure
✔️ 17. Designation of Special Court and Fast-track redressal systems
✔️ 18. Accountability for digital platforms hosting leaked content
✔️ 19. Consumer centric Provisions to boost economy, revenue of businesses and Tourism industry
✔️ 20. Provisions for Juveniles
✔️ 21. Regulation of CCTV systems
✔️ 22. Strong preventive mechanism
✔️ 23. Clearly-defined exemptions and transparency provisions
Accordingly, the Bill seeks to protect: (1) bodily privacy, (2) communication privacy, (3) locational privacy, and (4) data confidentiality. It defines any such comprehensive breach of privacy as ‘Voyeurism’ under the Model Law. In legal drafting, it is rare for laws to focus on the underlying anti-social ‘motive’ of the offender rather than their ‘mens rea.’ For example, offences are not termed “murderism” or “rapeism.” However, in this context, the suffix ‘-ism’ in the Bill’s title, Voyeurism, is deliberately employed to highlight and challenge the broader ideology of intrusion into individuals’ private lives, thereby condemning voyeuristic conduct at its very foundation.
The reform is not limited to advocacy alone. Professors from the National Forensic Sciences University, Delhi and Symbiosis Law School, Pune, have publicly endorsed the Bill and urged the Government to adopt it, recognising it as a crucial step in securing an individual’s right to privacy. They also endorsed that this pioneering Bill, if enacted in India, could serve as a Model Law for countries around the world, making our country a global leader in privacy rights for others to follow.
Globally, the threat is enormous. A study of more than 22,000 adult websites found that 93% of them leak user data to third parties, while a 12-nation survey revealed widespread ignorance about how easily private data can be stolen or misused. Against this backdrop, India now has an opportunity to lead the world by enacting a strong, preventive privacy law suggested by WAVF, a model that other nations could soon follow.
Privacy is inseparable from dignity, and the law must now ensure that both are protected. An individual’s body and personal data are not public property and the WAVF organisation is committed to safeguarding the right to privacy. At the same time, balanced transparency is necessary in exceptional circumstances and is essential for a healthy democracy.
“Your Privacy is our Pledge” is the official motto of the World Anti Voyeurism Forum. “We need public support to enact this Bill in the larger public interest,” says Privacy and Transparency Law Reformer Dhyananjay Madwanna.
Hyperlinks:-
- Dhyananjay Madwanna web page : https://dmlaw.in/
- Official website of World Anti Voyeurism Forum https://wavf.org/ ( This same link is attached to two phrases (1) – World Anti Voyeurism Forum, (2) – WAVF
