Many panicked when the deadline to link Aadhaar to their phone numbers and bank accounts was announced. It was a hard choice to ensure protecting one’s privacy: either follow the directive, or sacrifice phone services and bank facilities.
As if it were not enough, third party vendors like digital wallets and educational institutions started demanding the 12-digit unique identification number for authentication. The Supreme Court of India intervened after a slew of affidavits were filed challenging the legality of the Aadhaar Act, which allows private entities to demand the unique number. The central government was forced to extend the deadline. And now, the apex court has finally pronounced its verdict after a long wait. It has upheld the constitutional validity of the scheme, but with some changes. The final ruling said that the citizens of the country do not have to furnish their Aadhaar details before telecom service providers to avail services, such as obtaining a new SIM card.
Banks, digital wallets, schools, and educational institutions now cannot ask for Aadhaar cards for identification purposes. The court has also ordered telecom companies to erase Aadhaar details from its database.
However, Aadhaar is still mandatory for allotment of Permanent Account Number; filing income tax returns; and availing government schemes.
It was surprising that the government of India failed to understand what implications leakage of Aadhaar details could bring. Coincidentally, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s Chairman RS Sharmas had, while trying to prove otherwise, exposed the possibility of compromising one’s privacy if the unique identification number was made public. He published his 12-digit Aadhaar number on social media in July as a challenge to critics that it would do no harm. This triggered White Hat hackers—ethical hackers—to reveal several of his personal details, including mobile numbers, date of birth, PAN number, home address, and voter ID. More details could have been exposed if not for legal issues. It compelled the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to issue a statement advising the people not to share their Aadhaar numbers on social media and internet. The fact is that even if the central data repository at the UIDAI were secure, the unique number might be misused through third-party vendors. And the country’s weak cyber security laws won’t help.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is a welcome move but harm may have been done already as millions of people have already linked their Aadhaar to important documents before the final verdict was pronounced, and it will be difficult to delink them now. Even more, tax payers will be worried that they need to link their Aadhaar card when filing Income Tax Returns. There is still room for compromising one’s privacy through the unique number.
