DPDP Glossary
Erasure
Removal of personal data when it is no longer necessary for the specified purpose, subject to legal retention requirements and Section 12 requests.
Section 8; Section 12; Rule 8
What it means
Erasure appears both as a Fiduciary duty (erase when data is no longer necessary for the specified purpose unless law requires retention — Section 8) and as a Principal right to seek erasure under Section 12. Rule 8 addresses certain retention time periods in the Rules. Erasure is purpose- and law-sensitive — not “delete everything on request, always.”
Worked example
A marketing list built only for a consented campaign should be erasable when the purpose ends and no legal hold applies. Payroll records that another law requires keeping cannot be erased merely because an employee prefers them gone — retention law still binds.
In practice
Connect erasure requests to systems of record and processors. Document legal holds. Align retention schedules to purposes so “no longer necessary” is decidable. See Rule 8 for Rules-layer timing detail.
Source
Section 8; Section 12; Rule 8 · Official text (PDF)
Educational summary based on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and Rules, 2025. Not legal advice.