India DPDPA: Article 7 – Certain Legitimate Uses
7. Certain Legitimate Uses
A Data Fiduciary may process personal data of a Data Principal for any of following uses, namely:—
(a) for the specified purpose for which the Data Principal has voluntarily provided her personal data to the Data Fiduciary, and in respect of which she has not indicated to the Data Fiduciary that she does not consent to the use of her personal data.
Illustrations.
(I) X, an individual, makes a purchase at Y, a pharmacy. She voluntarily provides Y her personal data and requests Y to acknowledge receipt of the payment made for the purchase by sending a message to her mobile phone. Y may process the personal data of X for the purpose of sending the receipt.
(II) X, an individual, electronically messages Y, a real estate broker, requesting Y to help identify a suitable rented accommodation for her and shares her personal data for this purpose. Y may process her personal data to identify and intimate to her the details of accommodation available on rent. Subsequently, X informs Y that X no longer needs help from Y. Y shall cease to process the personal data of X.
(b) for the State and any of its instrumentalities to provide or issue to the Data Principal such subsidy, benefit, service, certificate, licence or permit as may be prescribed, where––
(i) she has previously consented to the processing of her personal data by the State or any of its instrumentalities for any subsidy, benefit, service, certificate, licence or permit; or
(ii) such personal data is available in digital form in, or in non-digital form and digitised subsequently from, any database, register, book or other document which is maintained by the State or any of its instrumentalities and is notified by the Central Government, subject to standards followed for processing being in accordance with the policy issued by the Central Government or any law for the time being in force for governance of personal data.
Illustration.
X. a pregnant woman, enrols herself on an app or website to avail of government’s maternity benefits programme, while consenting to provide her personal data for the purpose of availing of such benefits. Government may process the personal data of X processing to determine her eligibility to receive any other prescribed benefit from the government.
(c) for the performance by the State or any of its instrumentalities of any function under any law for the time being in force in India or in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India or security of the State;
(d) for fulfilling any obligation under any law for the time being in force in India on any person to disclose any information to the State or any of its instrumentalities, subject to such processing being in accordance with the provisions regarding disclosure of such information in any other law for the time being in force;
(e) for compliance with any judgment or decree or order issued under any law for the time being in force in India, or any judgment or order relating to claims of a contractual or civil nature under any law for the time being in force outside India;
(f) for responding to a medical emergency involving a threat to the life or immediate threat to the health of the Data Principal or any other individual;
(g) for taking measures to provide medical treatment or health services to any individual during an epidemic, outbreak of disease, or any other threat to public health;
(h) for taking measures to ensure safety of, or provide assistance or services to, any individual during any disaster, or any breakdown of public order.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, the expression “disaster” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (d) of section 2 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005; or
(i) for the purposes of employment or those related to safeguarding the employer from loss or liability, such as prevention of corporate espionage, maintenance of confidentiality of trade secrets, intellectual property, classified information or provision of any service or benefit sought by a Data Principal who is an employee.
What Article 7 Means for Your Business
Article 7 provides a limited set of grounds under which personal data may be processed without consent. These are the DPDPA’s equivalent of GDPR’s non-consent legal bases, but the list is significantly narrower. There is no general legitimate interests ground, businesses cannot rely on a balancing test to justify processing without consent.
- Personal data may be processed without consent where the individual has voluntarily provided it for a specific purpose and has not objected to its use for that purpose.
- The State and its instrumentalities may process data for subsidies, benefits, licences, and other state functions without consent, subject to the standards in Schedule II.
- Processing is permitted for compliance with a legal obligation or court order, this covers regulatory reporting, tax compliance, and similar requirements.
- Medical emergencies and healthcare delivery are recognised as legitimate uses, hospitals, clinics, and health platforms may process data to protect life without first seeking consent.
- Employment-related processing, such as payroll, performance management, and workplace safety, is permitted under this Article without requiring employee consent for each processing activity.
- Do not assume that a GDPR legitimate interests assessment will translate to a valid ground under Article 7, the two frameworks are not equivalent.