Aadhaar hearing: Petitioners protest storage of data at state-level repositories
All biometric details stored in the State Resident Data Hubs (SRDH) prior to the implementation of the Aadhaar Act in 2016 have been destroyed, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi told the SC. Data is now stored only in the Central Identities Data Registry (CIDR), he informed, adding he had confirmed it with UIDAI officials. The SC is hearing a batch of petitions against Aadhaar.
Petitioners' arguments against mandatory Aadhaar
Several petitions have challenged the government's move making Aadhaar mandatory. One argument is that Aadhaar breaches citizens' right to privacy. Another is security. How safe is the Aadhaar database from cyber attacks? Moreover, there are concerns over reliability. Is there certainty that Aadhaar cards can't be forged? Finally, are there enough checks to prevent possible misuse?
Petitioners claim SRDH data being stored and shared
One of their arguments was about SRDH, started as a state-level UIDAI data repository to eliminate fictitious data from various departments' records. Petitioners claimed data collected by SRDH was still being stored and shared with private persons. Dwivedi, appearing for Gujarat, insisted they had been destroyed and that "there was no breach of data" even before the Aadhaar Act.
Petitioners want deadline extended, those denied benefits compensated
Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the petitioners, asked for the Aadhaar linking deadline of March 31 to be extended further owing to the ongoing hearing. He also urged compensation to those who had been denied benefits for not having Aadhaar. "Instances of starvation deaths must be compensated." The SC is likely to consider the requests at the next hearing on March 6.
