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18 The decision in K S Puttaswamy (9J)28 (supra) introduced the proportionality standard in determining violations of fundamental rights, particularly the right to privacy. This doctrine was affirmed in the judgments of five out of the nine judges on the Bench. Subsequently, a Constitution Bench in K S Puttaswamy v. Union of India29 (“Aadhar (5J)”) fleshed out the contours of a proportionality analysis and applied it to determine the constitutionality of the Aadhar Scheme and the Aadhar Act 2016. Justice A K Sikri conducted a comparative analysis of the types of proportionality analysis globally and elucidated a four-pronged approach that could be suitable for the Indian Constitution. This test was laid down in the following terms:

All the aforesaid grounds, therefore, do not seek to differentiate between State action in its various forms, all of which are interdicted if they fall foul of the fundamental rights guaranteed to persons and citizens in Part III of the Constitution.” (emphasis supplied) 27 The Constitution Bench in Aadhar (5J) (supra) also undertook an integrated proportionality analysis to determine the proportionality of the State’s interference in the rights to privacy, dignity, choice and access to basic entitlements37. Hence, the Court can adopt an integrated proportionality analysis where the limitation on each of the rights is common and affects them in a similar way. In the present case, the Para 1277  PART C limitation (i.e., Clause 2(iii) of the 2020 MTT Guidelines) is what affects the appellant’s rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21. Further, the appellant has submitted that the limitation is arbitrary, not a reasonable restriction and violative of his liberty because the RBI has, without application of mind, linked the prohibition on import/export of a product to the prohibition of MTTs in relation to that product. It is thus clear that the appellant’s submissions for challenging the constitutionality of Clause 2(iii) rest on similar grounds, and hence an integrated proportionality analysis can be adopted. However, this Court must issue a note of caution – while an integrated proportionality analysis has been adopted for assessing the limitation on rights (under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21) in this case, it may not be true for all cases where such limitations occur because the alleged violation of rights may be characteristically different or the alleged limitation may affect the rights in different ways.