In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

11492 - The Aadhaar legal framework is broken - LIVE MINT

Last Modified: Tue, May 30 2017. 01 45 AM IST


The regulations are weak on grievance redressal and completely absent in the case of authentication and data security

VRINDA BHANDARI / RENUKA SANE


There is not enough clarity on important aspects pertaining to the Aadhaar scheme. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

Aadhaar has in recent times become an important tool in the government armoury. From welfare receipts to filing tax returns, an Aadhaar number is now an all-pervasive prerequisite. As Aadhaar becomes the core around which our relationship with the state revolves, we need to ask ourselves if the surrounding legal framework provides enough clarity on the enrolment, authentication, and storage processes. Are there adequate protections against misuse? Do citizens have access to an adequate grievance redressal mechanism? We think the answers to these questions are a resounding no.

Before explaining further, it is important to understand the authority that runs and regulates Aadhaar. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the agency responsible for Aadhaar enrolment and authentication, ensuring the security of individuals’ identity information, and managing the grievance redressal mechanism. Two legal instruments shape UIDAI’s behaviour: the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and the Aadhaar Regulations, 2016, on enrolment, authentication, data security, and sharing of information. We need these to be precise, and to provide for adequate checks and balances to hold UIDAI accountable.

Herein lies the problem. There is not enough clarity on important aspects pertaining to the Aadhaar scheme. The Aadhaar Act left several aspects, such as the information required for enrolment and verification, the procedure of sharing identity information, and the security protocols, to be specified “by regulations”. So we have a law that has decided to not specify these core issues, in the expectation that they would be fleshed out in future regulations.

However, even the regulations issued by UIDAI left key aspects to be specified by it at a future undetermined date. For instance, the “standards” for collecting biometric and demographic information, and the procedure for updating biometric information of children are to be “specified by the Authority”. Similarly, UIDAI shall generate the Aadhaar number after de-duplication and “other checks as specified by the Authority”. Throughout the regulations, the phrase “specified by Authority” has been used 51 times. So, today, seven years after the first Aadhaar number was issued, we still do not have clarity on several issues that are key to Aadhaar’s functioning.
It may sometimes be justified, as in the case of technical information, for UIDAI to leave things unspecified. But when issues that determine how sensitive, personal information is collected, authenticated, stored, used, and shared with third parties are left unspecified, it becomes cause for concern. Moreover, we do not even know if, and when, UIDAI will specify these issues, as there seems to be no obligation on it to do so.

The regulations are also weak on grievance redressal, and are completely absent in the case of the Aadhaar Regulations on authentication and data security. There is little information about the actual process of redress, how it will work, the composition of the “contact centres”, the performance standards and timelines on which their work will be evaluated, the binding nature of the resolution mechanism, the identity of the final decision-maker, and the possibility of appealing/challenging UIDAI’s decision.

Even when it comes to the omission or deactivation of an Aadhaar number, the regulations provide little panacea. First, there is no requirement for UIDAI to hear the person whose Aadhaar number is sought to be omitted or deactivated, and thus no requirement to follow principles of natural justice. Second, UIDAI’s decision (based on a report submitted by its nominated “agency” after following procedures “to be specified” in the future) is final, and no appellate remedy has been provided for. Finally, the Aadhaar number holder will simply be informed about this decision by text and his/her only remedy will be to use the completely inadequate grievance redressal mechanism (“contact centres”). When you consider the consequences of deactivation, such that a person may get excluded from benefit receipts, or may not be able to file tax returns, the lack of substance in the grievance redressal process becomes hugely problematic.
The Aadhaar Act and regulations also say little on enforcement. The Act has a specific chapter on offences and penalties, where it criminalizes certain actions such as unauthorized access or disclosure of identity information. However, unlike most other statutes, only UIDAI can file a criminal complaint for violations of the Act, and not the person aggrieved. Thus, if UIDAI thinks that a complaint is not worth pursuing, then the Aadhaar number holder has no remedy and no means of holding UIDAI to account. Further, the Aadhaar Act does not talk about damages to the affected person. There are also no clear procedures for imposing liabilities on enrolment or authentication service agencies, thus reducing the incentives of these service providers to comply with the legal framework.
Aadhaar is the centrepiece of the government’s agenda. However, the enrolment and authentication processes are still operating in a sort of legal vacuum. In the absence of a privacy law in India, the need for an effective accountability and enforcement mechanism in the Act becomes even more important. There is thus an urgent need to introduce amendments to the Aadhaar Act and regulations to address these problems.
Vrinda Bhandari and Renuka Sane are, respectively, a practising advocate in Delhi and an associate professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi.