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

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

11932 - Aadhaar: What are the pending cases before the Supreme Court? - Indian Express

Aadhaar: What are the pending cases before the Supreme Court?

A look at the various PILs pending before the Supreme Court in matters related to the mandatory possession of Aadhaar.

Written by Sonakshi Awasthi | New Delhi | Published:May 31, 2017 11:58 am


We take a look at the pending Aadhaar cases before the Supreme Court.

With reports of various organisations and government agencies making private details of individuals such as biometrics and bank account details public, a set of Public Interest Litigations have been filed in the Supreme Court urging it to intervene and stop the government from mandating the compulsory possession of Aadhaar.

The government’s decision of making Aadhaar compulsory, petitioners say, was in effect contempt of the Supreme Court’s October 2015 order which explicitly stated voluntary possession of an Aadhaar by an individual.

Here’s a look at the different cases related to Aadhaar that are pending before the Supreme Court:

Petitions against making Aadhaar mandatory for social welfare schemes:

Shantha Sinha & Anr. v. Union of India (W.P. (C) 342/2017)
Taken up before the Supreme Court on May 19, 2017, the petition filed is against the notifications in making Aadhaar mandatory. Senior counsel Shyam Divan on behalf of the petitioner requested the Court for an interim stay on the June 30 deadline (explained below) on making Aadhaar mandatory for all individuals to which the Supreme Court refrained and listed all interim relief matters to be heard on June 27, 2017.
Pan card and Income Tax (Section 139AA):

Binoy Visman v. Union of India (WP(C) 247/2017) and S.G. Vombatkere & Anr. v. Union of India (W.P.(C) 277/2017)

Senior Counsels Arvind Datar representing the petitioner in Binoy Visman and Shyam Divan on behalf of the petitioner in the latter, added another case to the list of pending cases in the Aadhaar matter on April 13, 2017 challenging Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 introduced by the Finance Act, 2017.
The said section mandates a person to link his Aadhaar number to his Permanent Account Number (PAN) card as well as quote the Aadhaar number while filing one’s income tax returns.
The urgency to bring the matter to the attention of the court is due to the first line mentioned in the Act, “Every person who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number shall, on or after the 1st day of July, 2017, quote Aadhaar number-…”
At the outset, Divan distilled the matter excluding the challenges to privacy and constitutionality of the Aadhar Act, circling the pending Aadhar cases, from the hearing.
Challenging Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 19(g) (part of fundamental rights giving rights to individuals to practice free trade and profession) of the Indian Constitution, Divan concluded his arguments focusing on the altered “relationship of Republic of India with its citizens”..” Pointing out how providing of proof of identification and address of individuals to private parties and not government officials is a violation of rights. Further, he focused on how the Registrar authorized by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) could be a bank, a public sector employee and any other agency having no privity with the Government. Therefore, forcing the individuals to reveal their personal information to a third party is a violation of Article 19(g) of the Constitution. Divan concluded his arguments praying a blanket stay on Section 139AA or a coercion-free system if the section comes into force. He further requested the court to not invalidate the PAN card in case Aadhaar is linked to an individual.
The Court on hearing both the Counsels on behalf of the petitioner, Datar and Divan and the respondent, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi representing the government for continuous six days, reserved the order on May 4, 2017.
The Supreme Court on May 19, 2017 refrained to grant an interim stay on the June 30 deadline to link all individuals to Aadhaar.

Infringement of Right to Privacy (Article 21):
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Another v. Union of India (WP(C) 494/2012
All of the 22 Aadhaar matters are linked to the above mentioned case in the Supreme Court. The case is currently being heard by a constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar. In August 2015, a three-judge bench passed an order clearly stating that Aadhaar is voluntary and no citizen can be denied benefits otherwise entitled to them for not obtaining an Aadhaar card. The top court also ordered the government to broadcast the same by means of electronic and print media, radio and television. The Aadhaar card, it said, cannot be used for any purpose other than PDS.
“The Unique Identification Number or the Aadhaar card will not be used by the respondents for any purpose other than the PDS Scheme and in particular for the purpose of distribution of foodgrains, etc. and cooking fuel, such as kerosene. The Aadhaar card may also be used for the purpose of the LPG Distribution Scheme.”
Later in October that year, it further allowed the use of Aadhaar for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, pensions by central and state governments, and the Employees’ Provident Fund scheme.
It is from this October date that various contempts of the order and violations of the directions were reported and individuals were mandated to provide Aadhaar number for applying for pre metric, post metric and merit based scholarships by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Such violations constantly took place and a list of cases tagged themselves to the above mentioned matter.

Aadhar Act passed as a Money Bill:
Jairam Ramesh v. Union of India (W.P.(C) 231/2016)
In March 2016, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed the passage of the Aadhar Act, 2016 as a money bill, amid protests by the Opposition. Although Article 110 sub-clause (3) of the Indian Constitution explicitly states that the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker in matters of whether a bill is a money bill or not “shall be final”, former Union minister Jairam Ramesh filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the government on passing the Aadhar Act as a money bill without consulting the Rajya Sabha.
A money bill consists of seven provisions provided in Article 110(1) of the Constitution including regulation of tax and borrowing by the government, custody of consolidated funds of India and payments and withdrawals from the fund, appopraition of money out of the consolidated fund, declaring the expenditure charged on the consolidated fund and its increase and receipt of money on account of the consolidated fund.
The petitioners argued that the “Aadhaar Act did not comprise solely of management of funds of the Consolidated Fund of India, instead it was only a part of the Bill that included amongst other things, the roles and responsibilities of enrollment agencies, requesting entities, and authentication agencies, and the information to be given to users,” Legally India reported. The matter is pending before the court and is awaiting trial where the respondents are seeking judicial review of the Aadhaar Act passed as a money bill passed by the Lok Sabha Speaker and challenging validity of whether the Speaker’s decision is “final”.

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