A 5-judge Supreme Court bench hearing the Whatsapp privacy case will await the verdict of the 9-judge Constitution bench to decide on the privacy issue involving Aadhaar.

The Centre told the Supreme Court today that personal data cannot be shared and said that WhatsApp and other social media will be regulated, in effect opposing the sharing of personal data by service providers. The Centre said  personal data was integral to life and liberty and it would bring about a law on data protection.

The Supreme Court bench has fixed the matter for further hearing on September 6.

The Supreme Court has started hearing arguments on the contentious issue of whether right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution, a key question linked to the Aadhaar debate.

A nine-bench bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, is listening to the arguments. The bench also comprises Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde, R K Agrawal, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Abhay Manohar Sapre, D Y Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer.