12577 - Foreign Firm Contracted For Aadhaar On FBI Radar For Installing Secret Code In US Biometric Machines - Outlook India

27 DECEMBER 2017Last Updated at 6:11 PMINTERNATIONALNATIONAL

Foreign Firm Contracted For Aadhaar On FBI Radar For Installing Secret Code In US Biometric Machines

In a secret deal, a French company Safran Group’s subsidiary company purchased a code from a Kremlin-connected firm, incorporated it into its own software to boost performance, and hid its existence from the FBI

ANIRUDDHA DHAR

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Software for analysing fingerprints used by the FBI and more than 18,000 other US law enforcement agencies contains Russian code. This piece of news should worry Americans as well as Indians, who are being enrolled for Aadhaar.

In a secret deal, the subsidiary of French company Safran Group purchased a code from a Kremlin-connected firm, incorporated it into its own software to boost performance, and hid its existence from the FBI, two former employees of Safran Group told BuzzFeed News.

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The revelation should raise red flag in India, as Safran (“Safran Identity & Security) is one of the companies chosen to take part in an unprecedented programme called Aadhaar to count everybody residing in India and then assign each person a unique identification number”. The details are mentioned on the Paris-based company’s website. 

Outlook reached out to the UIDAI and Safran Group and Nandan Nilekani for their response on Thursday. While the UIDAI is expected to respond by the second week of January, 2018, the French company's India office is closed till January 2.  We will update the story once we receive their responses.  

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According to a response to an RTI query in 2015, one of the companies which has been given the contract by the UIDAI on July 30, 2010 for implementation of biometric under the Aadhaar scheme was L-1 Identity Solutions Operating Co Pvt Ltd, headquartered in the US. A month after signing the contract, L1 Identity Solutions was acquired by Safran Group. On February 2, 2011, the UIDAI signed a contract with Sagem Morpho Security Pvt Ltd, which is owned by Safran SA Group, for the purchase of biometric authentication devices.

The allegations raise concerns that Russian hackers could compromise US law enforcement computer systems. One of the whistleblowers, Philippe Desbois, told BuzzFeed News that officials in Safran subsidiary Sagem Sécurité, later renamed Morpho, were worried about the FBI learning the truth of the code's origin, affecting their deal.

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The makers of the code, Papillon Systems, regularly works with law enforcement agencies in Russia, including the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia's modern-day spy agency. US intelligence agencies say the FSB was linked to efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

In August, The Times of India reported that contracts signed with foreign companies by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), custodian of Aadhaar data, show that  they got "full access" to classified data, including fingerprints, iris scan information, and personal information like date of birth, address and mobile number of the applicants. They were also allowed to store the data for seven years.

It was revealed through an RTI application filed by Bengaluru-based Col Matthew Thomas, one of the petitioners in the right to privacy case currently being heard in Supreme Court.

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The RTI reply, as mentioned by the ToI report, showed that the nature of the contracts contradicted UIDAI's statements that no private entity had access to unencrypted Aadhaar data. The contract with L-1 Identity Solutions Operating says the company was given Aadhaar data access "as part of its job". Morpho and Accenture Services Pvt Ltd are two other firms that were given identical contracts with two-year (2010 to 2012) Aadhaar data access.

“They told me, ‘we will have big problems if the FBI is aware about the origin of the algorithm,’ " Desbois, the Safran subsidiary's former CEO of Russia operations, told BuzzFeed News.

“It was always the intonation like we have done something bad that is a secret between us and that we should not repeat it to anybody,” he added.

Desbois has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Safran in retaliation, alleging the company fraudulently took more than $1 billion from US law enforcement agencies at every level. Safran did not deny the existence of Russian code in court filings, according to the report, but instead argued that it is not responsible for the actions of a subsidiary.

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The FBI declined to answer questions but issued a statement to BuzzFeed.

In August, while hearing a petition against the Aadhaar, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that Indians enjoy a fundamental right to privacy, that it is intrinsic to life and liberty and thus comes under Article 21 of the Indian constitution.

The petitioners had contended that the biometric data and iris scan that was being collected for issuing Aadhaar cards violated the citizen’s fundamental right to privacy as their personal data was not being protected and was vulnerable to exposure and misuse.

This month, the government extended the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar linking from December 31 to March 31, 2018.

This extension will be for 139 services for which the deadline is currently December 31, 2017. The extension, would in all likelihood, include the mandatory linkage of Aadhaar with bank accounts.

12576 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 28th December 2017

	Want to open a Facebook account? Keep your Aadhaar card by your side Economic Times Now even Facebook wants you to use your Aadhaar while creating a new account. Facebook is testing a new feature which encourages those opening new accounts to submit their names as in their Aadhaar cards. "Using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise you," ... Facebook ducks query on Aadhaar linkage in future - Economic Times Facebook Asks New Users To Provide 'Real' Aadhaar Name While Opening Account - Outlook India Facebook asks new users in India to enter names as per Aadhaar - The News Minute
	BJP MPs tell Chidambaram he can't discuss Aadhaar The Hindu Early this year, Congress Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court questioning how a legislation on Aadhaar could be passed in Parliament as money bill. Mr. Chidambaram represented him in the case in February this year. Citing it, the five BJP ... P Chidambaram should recuse himself when house panel debates Aadhaar: BJP members - Economic Times Parl Standing Committee members differ on discussing Aadhaar - Times of India Aadhaar panel clash - The Telegraph
	71.24 crore mobile connections linked with Aadhaar: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Economic Times "Linking of Aadhaar with personal bank accounts is being done based on the amendments that have been effected in the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules 2005. Linking of Aadhaar with mobile number has been effected in pursuance of...Supreme Court order dated February 6, 2017," Minister for ...
	Identity or not? The importance of being Aadhaar Moneycontrol.com If the BJP spread its wings across India, gaining a foothold in 19 states by December, the government agencies too made many attempts to entrench Aadhaar into the common man's life through the year. The unique identification number gained importance quite prolifically through the year and will likely ...
	Aadhaar made mandatory for Atal Pension Yojana Economic Times The new form mandatorily asks for the Aadhaar card number and carries the declaration from the subscribers as such - "I hereby authorize PFRDA to use my Aadhaar details for APY and authenticate my identity through the Aadhaar Authentication system in accordance with the provisions of the Aadhaar ...
	Close to 71.24 crore mobile connections linked with Aadhaar: RS Prasad The Indian Express Close to 71.24 crore mobile numbers – both new connections and existing – and 82 crore bank accounts have been linked with 12-digit biometric identifier Aadhaar, the Rajya Sabha has been informed. “Linking of Aadhaar with personal bank accounts is being done based on the amendments that have ... 71.24 crore mobile connections now linked with Aadhaar, OTP-based mobile SIM verification to ... - Digit Law ministry nixes plan to make Aadhaar mandatory for driving licences - Hindustan Times 71.24 crore mobile numbers have been linked with Aadhaar: RS Prasad - BGR India
	Unique Identification? 5000 Villagers In MP Have Same Birthday On Aadhaar Card. Indiatimes.com The software for Aadhaar is designed in a way that it automatically lists January 1 as the date of birth for people who do not know their actual birthday. It takes between 5-10 days to get the correction done. The lackadaisical approach from the government in a matter to worry. In Jharkand, people have ... 5000 Villagers From 5 Villages Of Madhya Pradesh Have Same Birth Date On Aadhaar; Not Able ... - The Logical Indian
	WhatsApp Gets Legal Notice, Facebook's Aadhaar Requirement, Idea Rs. 309 Plan, and More ... NDTV Moreover, Facebook has not asked for any Aadhaar-related information yet, such as the UIDAI number. Only a small number of new users signing up for Facebook will see this prompt, and that too only on the mobile site, the company said in a statement to Gadgets 360. Idea updates Rs. 309 plan to offer ...
	Foreign Firm Contracted For Aadhaar Under FBI Radar For Installing Secret Code In US Biometric ... Outlook India Software for analysing fingerprints used by the FBI and more than 18,000 other US law enforcement agencies contains Russian code. This piece of news should worry Americans and worry India, which is enrolling its citizens for Aadhaar. In a secret deal, the subsidiary of French company Safran Group ...
	Now, Aadhaar details mandatory for subscribing Atal Pension Yojana Zee News In its latest circular, PFRDA said, “APY subscriber registration form has been suitably modified to obtain the consent of the subscriber for Aadhaar seeding and subsequent authentication”. The Aadhaar mandatory linking of Aadhaar Atal Pension Yojana will be applicable with effect from January 1, 2018.
	From January 1, fertiliser subsidy tied to Aadhaar The New Indian Express An order has been passed that from January 1, the subsidy will be given only to people carrying Aadhaar cards. Action was taken across TN and Puducherry to support this and point of sale machines were distributed at all offices. Once the Aadhaar details are entered, the farmers would begin getting the ...
	Starvation death highlights flaws in Aadhaar-bank linkage Moneylife Rethink Aadhaar, a non-partisan campaign concerned about the Aadhaar project, has raised serious queries, supported by documentary evidence, regarding the Aadhaar-bank linkage in the context of the death of a 64-year old widow, Premani Kunwar, due to hunger and exhaustion on 1 December ...

12575 - Facebook Continues to Bring Us Closer to Black Mirror Horrors – Some More of the Creepiness Before 2017 Ends

Facebook Continues to Bring Us Closer to Black Mirror Horrors – Some More of the Creepiness Before 2017 Ends

By Rafia Shaikh

India has been making it to the headlines this year for giving Apple a hard time and for potentially creating a security disaster in shape of the Aadhaar Card – India’s version of the social security number, just a little more disastrous. The 12-digit unique identity number essentially stores all the sensitive information about an Indian citizen, but lacks the security protections raising privacy and security concerns locally and internationally. When this was introduced several years back, then chairman of Aadhaar issuer UIDAI had said that it could also be an easy way to verify Twitter and Facebook accounts.

It appears this might finally be happening.

RELATED

Facebook Says Its “Small Test” in India Wasn’t Meant to Collect Data from the Controversial Aadhaar Database

Reports first spotted by mysmartprice claimed that some users on iOS are seeing a prompt to register with their Aadhaar name when opening up a new Facebook account. The social networking giant that has remained at the forefront of data collection in the past decade has lately been pushing users to send the company nudes and verify their accounts with their pictures. In one of these efforts, the social network is now apparently asking Indians to register with the names on their Aadhaar cards, raising obvious security concerns as the company and the government can then directly tie accounts to real people.

“UID can be an easy way for verifying one’s Twitter and Facebook account,” Nandan Nilekani, the architect of Aadhaar and then UIDAI Chairman had said at a 2011 conference.

This implies that anyone (not just celebrities) will be able to get verified accounts, with their UID credentials. It can similarly be used for other online accounts where one needs to verify his/her identity.

The union between Aadhaar and Facebook

While the original report only mentions this new prompt appearing on iOS, Wccftech can confirm that this prompt also appears on Chrome and Safari on macOS when using the Incognito and the Private mode, respectively.

Currently, this prompt isn’t visible to every user, and isn’t mandatory either. It just encourages users to enter their names as they appear on their Aadhaar cards. However, looking at what the Hollywood has long predicted, this could become mandatory in a few years. There goes the charm and protection of anonymity that the web promised to offer. With reports coming from several countries prosecuting citizens based on what they share through their social media accounts using terms like “spreading propaganda against the state” or “national security,” this union between the real identities and the online presence comes with a fair share of concerns specifically for local rights activists, dissidents, and minorities.

RELATED

Hackers Target Facebook Messenger Users With Cryptocurrency Mining Malware

Facebook has never really been focused on keeping its platform clean, taking up some responsibility on how it’s used, or coming up with features that actually protect its users and not catch innocent users while still failing to eliminate bad actors. However, the company appears to have taken its anti-user-privacy efforts to the next level this year.

[Update]: Facebook doesn’t promise if this will remain optional; says it’s just a test

In response to our story, a Facebook spokesperson said in an email to Wccftech that this is a small test that the social networking site is carrying out in India. When asked if this will be turned into a mandatory requirement in the future, the company spokesperson said that “people are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card” avoiding any confirmation about its future plans.

Here’s the company’s comment to our story in full:

We want to make sure people can use the names they’re known by on Facebook, and can easily connect with friends and family. This is a small test where we provide additional language when people sign up for an account to say that using the name on their Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognize them.  This is an optional prompt which we are testing, people are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card.

In the Facebook-disasters timeline:

• After Demanding Nudes, FB Comes Up with Another Creepy Security “Feature”
• FB Reportedly Builds Censorship Tool to Get Back into China – Several Employees Quit
• Face ID? What Face ID! Say Hello to FB’s Facial Recognition That Finds Photos You Aren’t Even Tagged In
• WhatsApp’s FB Problem: App Continues to Face Privacy Questions Thanks to Its Parent Company

12574 - Your mobile is now your bank: Keep the data and the phone safe - Live Mint

Your mobile is now your bank: Keep the data and the phone safe

The year saw banks and other financial services companies compete in offering faster and easier services

Last Published: Wed, Dec 27 2017. 08 40 AM IST

An advertisement that was aired recently had cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni tell a bridegroom that he can get an instant personal loan using a financial services company’s mobile app. That tale represent in large measure what happened in the banking industry in 2017. Banks made a big push to reach customers through their mobile phones.

“The mobile device has become stronger. We are seeing mobile banking channels getting stronger than the traditional desktop channel. Hence, now we are looking at product design from a mobile phone point of view. The largest share in mobile transactions has been for fund transfers where NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer), IMPS (Immediate Payment System) and UPI (Unified Payments Interface) have grown the most,” said Praveen Bhatt, head-digital banking and customer experience, Axis Bank Ltd. 

Last year’s demonetization and the government’s thrust to the Digital India initiative after that, led banks to sing the mobile banking tune. Financial institutions looked to provide not just payments on digital platforms but also credit. Here is a look at what changed for the customers and whether the change was for the customers’ good.

What changed for you

Payments: Payments made the loudest noise in banking and the fintech industry in 2017. The end of 2016 saw the launch of UPI and Bharat QR, which changed the payments landscape, making businesses rethink their payment business strategies. The government’s push led banks to build products around UPI and Bharat QR. According to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in November 2017, 61 banks were live on UPI with a transaction value at Rs9,679 crore compared with 30 banks and Rs100 crore transaction value in November 2016.

This also changed the way e-wallet companies looked at their payments business. Along with fintech and banks, this year, global companies such as Google, Truecaller and Samsung Pay entered payments through UPI. Clearly, for customers it meant easier access to mobile-based digital payments, and banks have had to change their strategy. “After Google came in, a whole new set of customers came. Banks can no more remain closed. Now we are open to give our APIs (application programming interface) out,” said Bhatt. 

Deposits: This was not a good year for the depositor in terms of interest rates. After 6 years of 4%, savings bank account interest rates came down to 3.5% per annum—the first rate cut after the savings bank account interest rate was deregulated in 2011. In August, when State Bank of India (SBI) cut rates, it said that the real rate of interest was high and there was no choice for the bank but to bring down the savings account interest rate.

Meanwhile, opening of bank accounts incorporated Aadhaar and one-time password (OTP)-based Know Your Customer (KYC) process. “We have been able to generate new account relationships using Aadhaar-based on-boarding, both in urban and inclusive sectors. Next year, there will be greater adoption,” said Rajeev Ahuja, executive director, RBL Bank Ltd. 

In 2017, the bank fixed deposit rates were significantly lower, and sat in the 6% bracket, down from 6.75-7% in 2016. The bankers blamed it on high liquidity post-demonetization. There weren’t any significant innovations in bank fixed deposit and recurring deposit products.

Retail customers, however, gained from lower interest rates on home loans. While the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) regime came into effect in April 2016, it was only this year that interest rate on home loans came down to about 8.35% per annum. However, the banking regulator is not happy with the pace of transmission of interest rates and is looking at bringing in a new benchmark lending rate.

Lending and remittance: A slowdown in corporate lending business and slow growth in home loan segments pushed banks to open up their unsecured lending business. This meant that banks placed personal loans and credit cards faster in consumers’ hands than ever before. With the help of alternative data, fintech companies launched small credit and cash advances on their platforms. This encouraged major banks such as ICICI Bank Ltd (with Paytm) to enter the small credit segment. “Based on the transactions that a customer does and knowing her behaviour with the bank, we give small credit. We are being cautious and not going overboard. Not just Paytm, we will try to replicate the same model with various other companies. The next phase will be to open up for non-bank customers (as well),” said Madhivanan Balakrishnan, chief technology and digital officer, ICICI Bank Ltd.

Big banks’ focus on alternative data and small credit is also in response to the changing demands of customers. “Earlier, we used to compare with the apps of other banks. Now consumers are forcing us to compare ourselves not just within the industry but outside as well. It is now common for a consumer to compare a transaction at an e-commerce platform with a transaction in a bank app. We have been wondering if that is a fair battle but we have now given up on it. This is a big change for the banks as a whole,” said Bhatt.

Banks have been looking to improve the turnaround time for the remittance business as well. Since there is an increase in bank transfers for cross-border remittances, more banks this year have chosen the online model for cross-border remittances.

Data security: With a lot of personal data available on online platforms, it is clear that you will see more of your digital data being used for financial products and services. Financial institutions say they need to do more to understand a customer based on her payments data to cross-sell products such as credit cards and personal loans, and eventually long-term loans such as mortgages. With the young demography, banks are able to do this to an extent. “It is a young customer profile—87% of our customers are less than 30 years (of age). All of them have Aadhaar, PAN and smartphone,” said Shantanu Sengupta, managing director and head-consumer banking, DBS Bank India. 

This also means that you as a customer need to be careful who and what you give your consent for. Easy access to your data, in the wrong hands, can also expose your money to frauds and identity theft.

Why the change

Bankers say that customers are asking for more simplicity and faster turnaround time for banking transactions and services. “The biggest change happened in payments and remittances in 2017 in the form of PoS solution on mobile phones and UPI transactions due to the government’s push and new companies entering the segment,” said Balakrishnan. With increased mobile phone connectivity—it has crossed 1 billion—banks are going to continue to focus on everyone who has a mobile phone. The financial institutions, while focusing on your mobile phone, are also using your data to consider you for credit. This also means you need to be careful who you give consent to access your personal data. Next, you will see a lot more of your finances data being collated and analysed. The year 2017 may be considered as the period when banks took baby steps in mobile banking. But brace yourself for a faster pace and a bigger impact in the coming year.

First Published: Tue, Dec 26 2017. 05 14 PM IST

12573 - 2017: The year of the customer - Live Mint

2017: The year of the customer

Wth fintechs challenging and working together with traditional financial institutions, the picture looks promising for the consumer

Last Published: Tue, Dec 26 2017. 05 14 PM IST

Vivek Belgavi

Year 2017 proved to be a significant milestone in the growth of financial services in India in general, and for fintech in particular. Demonetization sowed the seeds for rapid adoption of digital payments and banking. Fintechs have helped accelerate the growth immensely through innovative products and solutions. Investments in the fintech space in India also witnessed frenzied activity this year, with total value of investments jumping by 388% from $383 million in 2016 to $1,868 million in the first three quarters of 2017, according to industry database CB Insights. This got further impetus due to a number of favourable guidelines by the regulators in consumer facing sectors. Multiple events and activities in the fintech sector crystallized together, and carved out an interesting journey for consumers in 2017.

Better access to finance

With over 1 billion mobile phones, 325 million broadband connections and 306 million new bank accounts, India became a case study in digital financial inclusion, driven by the Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile (JAM), as reported by the communications ministry. Such efforts brought more people into the formal banking ecosystem and fintech innovation helped create solutions that could be customized for particular strata of customers.

The alternative lending industry—which focussed on people who did not have access to formal credit lines due to lack of sufficient credit history—continued to attract attention. More than 225 alternative lending companies were founded in India in 2017 and the segment was the second most funded in India’s fintech space, as per data from an industry database Tracxn.

Earlier, one of the biggest challenges that firms had faced was the lack of regulatory support for new lines of business. The year marked a significant shift in this space as well, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releasing guidelines for person-to-person (P2P) lending. RBI’s directions were a significant step towards creating a differentiated and sustainable lending model in India.

One of the roadblocks in user experience in the past years was the inefficient, costly and broken verification processes at the time of customer registration. This is now history thanks to the advent of Aadhaar and India Stack. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), eKYC verifications have jumped almost 77% to 84 million in FY18 over FY17, speeding up the on-boarding process and reducing costs significantly.

The next stage was the transaction environment. The growth story of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was one of the key highlights of the year. As per NPCI data, UPI volumes stood at 105 million in November 2017, an exponential jump of more than 10 times in just 6 months. Quite a few companies such as Paytm, PhonePe, and Google have rolled out innovative solutions utilizing UPI. Along with this, there were two other significant developments in the government’s push for digital payments. One was the lowering of merchant discount rate (MDR) for smaller merchants and subsequently waiving MDR for transactions up to Rs2,000. Many fintech firms are also contemplating offering EMI and direct debit options over UPI.

Many banks also moved to virtual assistance and chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI), and we can expect more localised and intuitive avatars in 2018. Watch out for emergence of voice as the new interface.

Over the past 2 years, traditional financial institutions started perceiving fintechs as collaborators rather than competitors. In 2017, almost 46 strategic partnerships and deals took place between lenders, payments companies and fintech innovators. Some of these were the tie-ups between Paytm and ICICI Bank for short-term interest-free credit lines; Amazon India and Bank of Baroda for unsecured micro loans; Mobikwik and Bajaj FinServ for offering all features and benefits of Bajaj Finserv EMI cards over a digital payments wallet; Fisdom and Lakshmi Vilas Bank for a robo-advisory platform; and between Senseforth and HDFC Bank for chatbots.

Retail investment has also seen a steep rise this year. According to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), mutual fund folios have grown by over 9.5 million in the first eight months of the current fiscal year to an all-time high of 65 million by November-end. Apart from consumers looking at mutual funds as a preferred destination to park their money post-demonetization, this growth can also be attributed to a variety of factors, including better offerings by incumbents, and the rise of robo-advisory platforms.

There’s more to come

Along with the segments mentioned above, a few others could also emerge and will be exciting to watch. One of the areas currently with low digital penetration in India is insurance, but there are many new online insurers and marketplaces coming up that seek to offer seamless and digital distribution models. Traditional insurance companies are looking to partner with them to expand penetration, and are scouting for data partnerships with drone, wearables technology, IoT, telematics and other types of tech startups to augment risk assessment and offerings.

PSD2 (second Payment Services Directive) guidelines around open banking in Europe may see a positive impact in India as well, with banks and fintechs further collaborating over innovative application programming interfaces (APIs). We can also expect more data related partnerships. Blockchain is poised to enter mainstream with use cases such as digital identity, cross-border payments, and enabling trade finance powered by platforms from enterprise application providers. .

In retail investing, discount brokerages and robo-advisory platforms will continue to fuel growth and low-cost investment options. Whereas cryptocurrencies and ICOs are an emerging area across the globe, and have also seen interest from retail investors in India. But most are treading with caution as it is a regulatory grey area.

Overall, the picture looks promising for the consumer and they should continue to remain the king with FinTechs challenging and also working together with traditional financial institutions to provide better, faster, larger and more secure catalogue of innovative services.

Vivek Belgavi, partner—financial services (fintech and technology consulting leader), PwC

First Published: Tue, Dec 26 2017. 05 14 PM IST

12572 - Ayodhya to Memorandum of Procedure, Supreme Court battles could have political echoes p- Indian Express

Ayodhya to Memorandum of Procedure, Supreme Court battles could have political echoes

Outside the courtrooms, allegations of judicial activism, and run-ins of the judiciary with the legislature and executive, can be expected to continue.

Written by ANANTHAKRISHNAN G | Updated: December 27, 2017 12:33 am

2018 promises to be another action-packed year for the Supreme Court — cases with major political and social ramifications are listed for hearing, apart from an expected flood of public interest litigation (PIL). Attempts to rein in alleged judicial corruption, and to bring about greater transparency in appointments to the higher judiciary through implementation of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), and allowing audio and video recording of proceedings, will be closely watched. Outside the courtrooms, allegations of judicial activism, and run-ins of the judiciary with the legislature and executive, can be expected to continue.

Ayodhya

On February 8, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra will commence hearing on appeals against the September 30, 2010 judgment of the Allahabad High Court that ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi site, giving a third each to the Nirmohi Akhara sect, the Sunni Central Wakf Board, UP, and Ramlalla Virajman, the infant Lord Ram who sits where he was placed under a tarpaulin canopy by the kar sevaks who demolished the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. 

On May 9, 2011, the apex court had stayed the operation of the order during the pendency of the appeals, and ordered status quo at the disputed site and adjoining 67.7 acres of land acquired by the Centre in 1993. The proceedings will likely provoke political posturing, and could impact the campaign for the state elections in 2018, as well as the Lok Sabha election of 2019.

Aadhaar

A batch of petitions is pending in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and the government’s decision to link bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and other services to Aadhaar, and to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of various welfare schemes of the state. The petitioners have argued that Aadhaar infringes upon citizens’ fundamental right to privacy. They have alleged that making it mandatory, even though the Act says it will be voluntary, opens the door to unauthorised surveillance.

 According to the petitioners, Aadhaar’s use of biometric details like fingerprints and iris scans violates bodily and informational privacy, and carries with it the possibility of the collected data being misused. The government has, however, contended that Aadhaar is needed to plug leaks in state subsidy programmes, and to check corruption and black money. The first petition challenging Aadhaar was filed in 2012, long before the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 was notified. The petition was referred to a Constitution Bench in 2015, and a five-judge Constitution Bench was set up this year. The final hearing on the petitions will begin on January 17, 2018.

Living Will

The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict next year on whether a person can be allowed to execute a Living Will, and on the question of legalising passive euthanasia. Also known as an advance directive, a Living Will is an instrument that tells a physician in advance what end-of-life medical care the executors of the Will have chosen for themselves. It helps the individual control and influence decision making on his/her healthcare in situations in which he/she cannot make or communicate such decisions. The petitioner NGO Common Cause has pleaded that the right to execute a Living Will is associated with the right to privacy and right to life and personal liberty, and argued that it is legal in many countries. It has contended that allowing such a Will with necessary safeguards would enable people to opt for death without prolonging their suffering. The Centre has said that it is already vetting a draft law to allow passive euthanasia, but that it is opposed to allowing Living Wills because of the scope for their misuse.

12571 - A crisis, an uneasy truce, and two landmark judgments - TNN Blogs

A crisis, an uneasy truce, and two landmark judgments

December 26, 2017, 6:03 PM IST Jiby J Kattakayam in Jibber Jabber | India | TOI

Despite two momentous verdicts — recognising privacy as a fundamental right and outlawing triple talaq – 2017 was nothing less than an annus horribilis from which the judiciary was lucky to emerge with its credibility untarnished. Graft allegations attempted to box none less than the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra into a corner over the handling of cases related to Medical Council of India denying permission for some medical colleges to admit students for two years. Justice J Chelameswar, the seniormost judge after CJI Misra, a judge who has actively taken on the role of reforming the secretive collegium, was slated to hear the matter with five senior SC judges, setting the stage for an explosive outcome, but CJI Misra intervened, exercised his authority as master of roster and another bench finally heard and disposed of the matter with a Rs.25 lakh fine on Prashant Bhushan and company. Justice Chelameswar, who has nearly six months of tenure left, may also pay a heavy price but that remains to be seen.

The denouement was clearly not satisfactory but the perception that the judiciary managed the crisis without other arms of the state or civil society intervening has helped normalcy return. It remains to be seen whether the central government pursuing structural reforms in the economy has some appetite to attempt judicial reforms like the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, which will create structures to probe similar complaints, but the quashing of the National Judicial Appointments Committee Act and the absence of public outrage may deter the government from tinkering too much with judicial autonomy. Nevertheless, the collegium has shown some capacity for internal reform and forstering transparency by deciding to publish its recommendations on elevation or rejection of judgeship candidates.

The right to privacy judgment, decided 9-0, will rank among the finest moments for the judiciary. In a time when there appears to be little control over private data with governments, corporations, and criminals laying claim to it, the judgment written by Justice Chandrachachud for three more judges describes privacy as the “constitutional core of human dignity” protecting “heterogeneity and recognises the plurality and diversity of our culture”. He has also defined three zones – intimate, private and public – where privacy operates, thereby offering conceptual and operational clarity on how privacy expectations vary.

The triple talaq judgment was a case of ends justifying the means. Three judges ruled in favour of outlawing triple talaq while two – the minority – said this would be a violation of religious freedoms. More intriguingly, one of the three judges who outlawed triple talaq ruled with the minority against any violation of religious freedoms but he could not locate triple talaq in core Islamic texts  and hence banned it. There was much heartburn that triple talaq was outlawed in this fashion without an outright majority judgment based on right to equality before law and right against discrimination.

Weighty matters await Supreme Court in 2018. The hearing on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title dispute is poised to resume. SC must also decide whether the fetish with linking Aadhaar to all sorts of services, as has been progressing in recent months, is in consonance with the Aadhaar Act. There has not been much improvement in filling the vacancies in high courts. 392 of 1079 sanctioned high court judges post are lying vacant translating to a vacancy rate of 37%. Six of 31 positions are also lying vacant in Supreme Court. The Memorandum of Procedure also continues to hang fire. CJI Misra must settle this outstanding business with the government and work out a way to fill appointments as soon as retirements occur.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.