Mohammed Chand Shaikh I Blog Post No. 155. I Date : 26.04.2016.
This article first appeared in
In a blow to the government's reform process to transfer cash to the poor, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a plea of Congress leader Jairam Ramesh challenging Aadhaar as a money Bill.
The apex court has asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to appear for it on May 10 after the case came up for consideration.
Ramesh, who had objected to the government's move to push the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill at the Rajya Sabha, moved court.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who was instrumental in introducing the direct benefit transfer (DBT) during UPA-II regime and now representing Ramesh at the Supreme Court, said the Aadhaar Bill could not have been passed as money Bill.
Passing Aadhar Bill as a money bill was "grossly unconstitutional", he said.
The move assumes importance as a Constitutional bench in Supreme Court is scrutinising the security aspects of Aadhaar and whether it can be made mandatory as a unique ID.
On March 16, the Narendra Modi government achieved a great feat by getting the Aadhaar Bill passed in Parliament, which paved the way for the government to roll out social schemes and transfer subsidies to the poor.
Tagging Aadhaar as a money Bill ensured that it pass mustre despite the fact that BJP lacked numbers in the Rajya Sabha. Opposition parties led by Congress criticised the government for tagging Aadhaar as a money Bill and highlighted chances of its misuse.
The Bill was debated at length in the Rajya Sabha and returned with some changes. However, Lok Sabha annulled the changes and passed it in mid March.
The Bill, which was moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a money Bill at the Lok Sabha in the Budget session, was justified as a money Bill as it involves government expenditure on social schemes.
Jaitley promised that the Bill ensures secrecy of data, an issue that has been red-flagged by the Supreme Court.
The Bill intends to provide for targeted delivery of subsidies and services to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity numbers, called Aadhaar numbers.
The Bill states that every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number. To obtain an Aadhaar number, an individual has to submit his biometric data such as photograph, finger print, iris scan, demographic information like name, date of birth and address.
The Bill says Unique Identification Authority (UID) may specify other biometric and demographic information to be collected by regulations.
The Bill also seeks to give a statutory status to UIDAI as an authority consisting of a chairperson, two part-time members and a chief executive officer.
The UID authority will authenticate the Aadhaar number of an individual, if an entity makes such a request. A requesting entity has to obtain the consent of an individual before collecting his information. The agency can use the disclosed information only for purposes for which the individual has given consent.
The UID authority shall respond to an authentication query with a positive, negative or other appropriate response. However, it is not permitted to share an individual’s finger print, iris scan and other biological attributes.
The UID authority shall record the entity requesting verification of a person’s identity, the time of request and the response received by the entity. The purpose for which an individual's identity needs to be verified will not be maintained.
The Bill seeks to protect information saying biometric information such as an individual’s finger print, iris scan and other biological attributes (specified by regulations) will be used only for Aadhaar enrolment and authentication, and for no other purpose. "Such information will not be shared with anyone, nor will it be displayed publicly, except for purposes specified by regulations."
The Bill lays down when information may be revealed. "In two cases, information may be revealed: In the interest of national security, a Joint Secretary in the central government may issue a direction for revealing, (i) Aadhaar number, (ii) biometric information (iris scan, finger print and other biological attributes specified by regulations), (iii) demographic information, and (iv) photograph. Such a decision will be reviewed by an Oversight Committee (comprising Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries of Legal Affairs and Electronics and Information Technology) and will be valid for six months."
On the order of a court, an individual’s Aadhaar number, photograph and demographic information, may be revealed.
The Bill mandates penalties for erring person with imprisonment up to 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh for unauthorised access to the centralized data-base, including revealing any information stored in it. If a requesting entity and an enrolling agency fail to comply with rules, they shall be punished with imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to Rs 10,000 or Rs one lakh (in case of a company), or with both.
On cognizance of offence, the Bill states no court shall take cognizance of any offence except on a complaint made by the UID authority or a person authorised by it.
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