AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 4719 - Aadhaar after the interim order

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

Monday, September 30, 2013

4719 - Aadhaar after the interim order - Telegraph India

Aadhaar after the interim order

- What the Supreme Court order on Monday means for the card scheme

Do I still need an Aadhaar card for LPG subsidy if I live in one of the districts chosen for the pilot scheme, which applies from October 31 with a grace period of three months till January 31?

There is no clarity yet. The decision will be voluntary, not mandatory, if the Supreme Court's interim order is upheld in the final ruling. But the Centre said on Tuesday that there was no change in its pilot scheme. The Centre said it would move the court seeking “a correction” of Monday’s interim order. It added that efforts would be made to pass a related bill in the winter session. Petroleum minister Veerappa Moily said the planned rollout of the Aadhaar-based cash subsidy payout to cooking gas consumers would continue as planned. The minister did not elaborate and he probably meant that the government would not make any change till the final order and the fate of the bill in the winter session were known. As matters stand now, the government cannot insist that you have to have the card to obtain benefits such as LPG subsidy

Is the Supreme Court order interim or final?

Interim. But the court has sufficiently indicated that it is not in favour of making the Aadhaar card mandatory for obtaining benefits when no legislation has been enacted for the purpose. The Centre had also categorically told the court that enrolment for the Aadhaar scheme was voluntary. What is not clear is whether various agencies such as oil companies can make the card number mandatory for providing the subsidy. According to the current plan, the oil companies will deposit the subsidy in the consumers’ bank accounts and the government will reimburse the companies

When is the next hearing?

The court has not set any specific date. In normal course, the case may come up for hearing after four to six weeks

Will Aadhaar cards be issued in the interlude?

Yes. There is no embargo from the court on issuing the cards. For residents, enrolment is voluntary, not mandatory

Is there any point in having the Aadhaar card if it is not linked to the direct benefit scheme?

Aadhaar means foundation. It is the base on which a delivery system can be built. The question is whether the card, the enrolment to which is voluntary, can be made mandatory for obtaining the benefits. Aadhaar can be used in any system that needs to establish the identity of a beneficiary

Is the Aadhaar a citizenship card?

No. It only suggests that the cardholder is a resident of India

Why did the court say it should not be given to any illegal immigrant?

Strictly speaking, the Aadhaar scheme does not differentiate between illegal immigrants and citizens. You can go to any authorised Aadhaar enrolment centre anywhere in India with your identity and address proof. The centres accept 18 types of proof of identity and 33 categories of proof of address. The objective is to provide identification numbers to facilitate access to benefits and services for individuals residing in India and who are entitled to such benefits. An element of ambiguity has crept in because the draft bill refers to “individuals residing in India and to certain other classes of individuals”

Compiled by Basant Kumar Mohanty and R. Balaji