MADALA J
my view, can a neat surgical operation save it by severance of the offending portions.
[103] Consequently, I write not to disagree with the approach of Didcott J, which he articulates
so well, briefly, and with power. The question of pornography is as contentious in its scope as
it is in its definition. There is a loud voice that clamours for substantial censorship, if not outright
prohibition of “sexually explicit” material. There is an equally loud voice that urges that
pornographic matter should be made freely available. The arguments on both sides are hotly
charged, the issues ranging, inter alia, from production, sale and distribution to possession of
pornographic material and its effects on society. It is with the issue of possession only that the
present cases grapple. I, therefore, write with a keen sense that these cases, like others that come
before us from time to time, call upon one to add one’s views to the debate. It is for fear that those
who are less discerning, the mischievous, and those who may have ulterior motives, may want to
believe that the flood-gates are open for the possession of any and all forms of pornographic
material on the ticket that the right to privacy is inviolable, that I have decided to add these
remarks on the matter in concurring with Didcott J and Langa J on the conclusion that Section 2 (1)
is unconstitutional.
[104] In a dissenting judgment, Brandeis J, defining the right of privacy, stated:
The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of
happiness. They recognised the significance of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his
intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found
in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their
emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let
alone - the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.137 (My
underlining)
The right to privacy is recognised and guaranteed explicitly in several human rights instruments
137
Olmstead v US 277 US 438 (1928) at 478.
57
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