New Delhi: Former Karnataka high court judge Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, who lends his name to one of the most significant petitions of modern India, has passed away. He was 98.

Justice Puttaswamy had petitioned the Supreme Court against the government's move making Aadhaar mandatory in 2012. While he was the first to challenge Aadhaar, 26 more petitions were added to his, eventually. In the verdict of the case, the apex court held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right.

“I am completely vindicated by the decision,” he had said in its aftermath. “My contention had always been that Aadhaar enrolment can be made voluntary, in which case I would not have petitioned.”

Justice Puttaswamy studied at the Maharaja's College in Mysore and later, at the Government Law College in Bengaluru.

Appointed to the Karnataka high court as judge in 1977, he retired in 1986. Justice Puttaswamy has been vice-chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal's Bangalore Bench, chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal and the chairman of the Backward Classes Commission.