ABSTRACT
Photograph, fingerprint, iris scan ‘or such other biological attribute of an individual as may be specified by regulations’ are treated as biometric information. Aadhaar, which is operated by the Unique Identification Authority of India, is the world’s largest biometric database. Complaints about the unreliable machines eclipse a bigger problem – people who get excluded owing to biometric failures or mismatch. The petitioners contended that Aadhaar violates right to privacy of citizens – upheld as a fundamental right by the Constitution bench – by requiring individuals to part with demographic and biometric information to private enrolling agencies. The National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 was introduced to address the unanswered privacy issues in the Aadhaar system. The government has repeatedly dismissed reports of such leaks, saying ‘mere display of demographic information cannot be misused without biometrics, emphasizing that the biometric data is secure.
