Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice explains how the Justice for Pankaj Bhatcampaign (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, shares, protects and retains your personal data when you visit this website, sign the petition, or contact your elected representatives through it. We act as the Data Fiduciary for this personal data and process it in accordance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the rules made under it.

Please read this together with our Terms of Use. By using this site you confirm that you have read and understood this notice.

1. The personal data we collect

We collect only what we need to run the campaign and to keep it honest and secure:

• Information you give us when you sign: your name and email address, and optionally your phone number, city, state, district, constituency, PIN code and any message you choose to add.
• Information when you contact a representative: the name, email and message you ask us to send on your behalf, and the representative selected.
• Communication preferences: the channels you opt in to (WhatsApp, Telegram, email, SMS) and whether you allow analytics and advertising.
• Anti-abuse and security signals: a device fingerprint and a one-way hashedversion of your IP address (we do not store your raw IP), a coarse country derived from it, and your browser’s user-agent string. These let us prevent spam, duplicate signatures and automated abuse.
• Analytics & campaign data (only with your consent): pages viewed, referral source and basic interaction events, collected through analytics and advertising pixels. These load only afteryou turn on “Analytics & ads” in the consent banner.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. We do not ask for, and request that you do not submit, sensitive personal data (such as caste, religion, health or financial details) in any free-text field.

2. Why we use it (purposes)

• To record and display support for the petition.
• To deliver, at your request and with your explicit per-message authorisation, your message to the representative you choose.
• To send you campaign updates on the channels you have opted in to.
• To protect the integrity of the petition — detecting and preventing duplicate, fraudulent or automated submissions.
• With your consent, to measure reach and run advertising that grows support for the campaign.
• To comply with applicable law and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

3. The legal basis: your consent

We rely on your consent as the primary basis for processing your personal data for the purposes above. Your consent is free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous, and given by a clear affirmative action — for example, submitting the sign form or choosing options in the consent banner. Where we process limited data for security and anti-abuse, we do so for the legitimate purpose of protecting the integrity of the petition, as permitted under the DPDP Act. The snapshot of what you agreed to, and the policy version in force at the time, are recorded so we can honour your choices.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

Essential cookies (and our first-party consent cookie, jfpb_consent) are always active because the site cannot function securely without them; they remember your choices and protect against abuse. Analytics and advertising cookies/pixels are optional and are set only after you opt in. You can review or change your choices at any time from the consent banner.

5. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with Data Processors who help us operate the campaign and only to the extent necessary, under appropriate contractual safeguards — for example, our hosting and database provider, our email and messaging delivery providers, and, where you have consented, analytics and advertising providers. When you ask us to email a representative, your message and the contact details you provide are delivered to that representative. We may also disclose data where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

6. How long we keep it (retention)

We keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out above, or for as long as the campaign is active and a reasonable period afterwards, unless a longer period is required by law. When you withdraw consent or the purpose is fulfilled, we delete or irreversibly anonymise your personal data within a reasonable period, except where retention is legally required. Hashed security signals are retained only as long as needed to guard against abuse.

7. How we protect it

We apply reasonable technical and organisational security safeguards, including encryption in transit, hashing of IP addresses, restricted and role-based access to personal data, and processing of privileged data only on the server. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your data and to notify you and the Data Protection Board as required in the event of a personal data breach.

8. Your rights

As a Data Principal under the DPDP Act, you have the right to:

• Access a summary of the personal data we process about you and how we process it.
• Correction, completion, updating and erasure of your personal data.
• Withdraw your consent at any time — as easily as you gave it. You can change channel and analytics choices from the consent banner, or email the Grievance Officer to withdraw entirely. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
• Grievance redressal — to raise a complaint with us (see below) and to nominate another person to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity.
• Escalate to the Data Protection Board of India if your grievance is not satisfactorily resolved.

9. Grievance Officer

If you have any questions, requests or complaints about how your personal data is handled, please contact our Grievance Officer:

We aim to acknowledge and respond to grievances within the timelines prescribed under the DPDP Act and its rules.

10. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date and policy version above. Material changes that affect your consent will be brought to your attention so you can review your choices.