Aadhaar project of India is one of the most controversial projects of Indian government. In fact, from time to time legal and technical experts of India have been suggesting that Aadhaar project and UIDAI must be scrapped.
Although the futility of Aadhaar project of India and UIDAI is very apparent yet for purely political reasons Indian government is still clinging to Aadhaar project. The truth is that Aadhar project of India is unconstitutional and even UIDAI and Indian government is well aware of the same.
No matter what UIDAI and Indian government says the purpose of the Aadhaar project is the Indian government, Aadhar project and UIDAI are hiding truth from you. There are unconstitutional and illegal biometrics collection practices happening in India that clearly violates the constitutional freedoms of Indian citizens. The bottom line is thatbiometrics collection is unconstitutional in India.
As on date, the Aadhaar project of India is not governed by any law and parliamentary oversight. Aadhar project of India is always portrayed as a welfare scheme. In reality, Aadhar project and UIDAI have evil intentions. In fact, Aadhar project and UIDAI are the most evil projects of India till now. What is more surprising is why this e-surveillance and big brother project has not been scrapped by the Prime Minister’s office (PMO).
Indian government must also keep in mind the related problems. For instance we have no dedicated data protection laws in India, privacy laws and rights in India, data security laws in India, cyber security laws in India, etc.
India is increasingly facing serious cyber attacks. Recently, thecomputer systems of DRDO and security officials were breached and sensitive files were leaked. Further, it is also well known that Internet is full of unprotected and unsafe devices, SCADA systems and computers. The cyber security infrastructure of India is also not in a good shape. The offensive and defensive cyber security capabilities of India have still to be developed. In these circumstances managing the cyber security of biometric data collected by the Aadhaar project and UIDAI is next to impossible.
Even the cyber law of India is weak and ineffective and the cyber law of India requires an urgent repeal. A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court of India so that regulations and guidelines for effective investigation of cyber crimes in India can be ensured by Indian government.
If we analyse the Aadhaar project in this background we can safely conclude that Aadhaar project is a sure recipe for disaster and Indian government is forcing the same upon Indian citizens and residents for political reasons. So strong is the desire on the part of Indian government that it has also failed to understand that constitutional freedoms are at stake.
It has been reported by media that several cases have been filed in various courts questioning the security aspects and the legality with regard to Aadhaar cards. In November, the Supreme Court has already issued notices to Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission and the UIDAI on a PIL by a retired judge of Karnataka High Court questioning the bypassing of Indian Parliament by Indian government by going ahead with the distribution of UID numbers.
Now another PIL has been filed in the Bombay HC last week questioning the lack of safeguards in the Aadhaar cards. The court directed the UIDAI and the Centre to decide the matter within three months.
In another case, the Punjab and Haryana HC has issued notices to the Centre and the Union Territory Administration where the UID card was made mandatory for registration of vehicle and getting driving licence. However, this stands cancelled now.
Even the Parliamentary Standing Committee has found the project full of uncertainty in technology as the complex scheme is built upon untested, unreliable technology and on assumptions.
The response of Indian government is still awaited in all these cases but it is not difficult to predict its response as Indian government cannot give a rationale and satisfactory justification to an anomaly of this magnitude and nature named Aadhaar project.