[Fake Aadhaar Card case] Disclose information of persons for purpose of investigation: Delhi High Court directs UIDAI

The Delhi High Court last week directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to disclose information pertaining to around 450 persons who were allegedly issued fake Aadhaar cards for the purpose of enrolment in training for civil defence [State, Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) v. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)]..Justice Chandra Dhari Singh passed the following directions:"The Respondent (UIDAI) is hereby directed to provide all relevant information, qua the persons named in Annexure P-3 of the petition, as required for the purposes of investigation as per the provisions of the Aadhaar Act. The Investigation Agency is also directed to investigate the matter, upon receiving the requested information, with due regard to the provisions of the statute.".The Court was hearing a case wherein it was alleged that the then District Magistrate of Shahdara and other public officials had committed criminal misconduct by abusing their official position as public servants to give benefit to around 450 candidates with fake Aadhaar cards, who had enrolled for civil defence training.The case was the outcome of a complaint moved by one Vijender Gupta before the Anti-Corruption Branch, New Delhi alleging that the manner of recruitment of marshals for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses was illegal.The complainant had alleged that the recruitment process was manipulated by the District Magistrate, Shahdara, who had issued fake certificates to approximately 450 people from his home State of Rajasthan, showing them as Delhi residents for the purpose of making Aadhaar cards in their names. It was alleged that in August 2019, a large number of fake Aadhaar cards with bogus Delhi addresses were made for persons from Rajasthan at the Aadhaar centre functioning within the jurisdiction of the District Magistrate.Consequently, a first information report (FIR) was registered on January 24, 2020, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code by the Anti-Corruption Unit..Additional Public Prosecutor Kusum Dhalla, appearing for the Delhi government, requested the Court to direct UIDAI to disclose information pertaining to the fake Aadhaar cards for the purpose of investigation.It was argued that the disclosure of such information by UIDAI is only for investigative purposes and in no way amounts to an invasion of the right to privacy of the card-holders..Advocate Nidhi Raman, appearing for UIDAI, informed the Court that the authority had no objection to sharing the information being sought, to the extent and in a manner as permissible under the provisions of the 2016 Aadhaar Act..The Court ultimately directed the UIDAI to disclose all relevant information as required for the purpose of the investigation. It directed the investigating agency to probe the matter upon receiving the requested information, with due regard to the provisions of the Aadhaar Act..[Read Judgment]