The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday told the Madras High Court that it cannot comply with the court’s November 24 order to submit former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s thumbprints saying there is a statutory bar on sharing core biometric information provided by those who apply for Aadhaar cards.
The submission was made before Justice P. Velmurugan, who was hearing a petition that the thumb impressions reportedly affixed by Ms. Jayalalithaa on the documents related to the byelection at Tirupparankundram during her hospitalisation last year, were not genuine.
However, jailor K. N. Mohan Kumar of Parappana Agrahara prison in Karnataka submitted the thumb prints as per the judge’s directive.
In order to test the correctness of the claim that Jayalalithaa’s thumb impressions affixed in the election documents were not genuine, Mr. Justice Velmurugan had directed the UIDAI chairman as well as the Superintendent of Parappana Agrahara central prison in Karnataka, where Ms. Jayalalithaa had been lodged for 21 days after her conviction in a disproportionate assets case in September 2014, to produce her thumb impressions for cross verification.
Complying with the court order, Jailor K.N. Mohan Kumar appeared before the judge on Friday and presented a USB drive containing a soft copy of her thumb impression.
He had also brought with him a register, which had been maintained in the prison between March 29, 2014 and February 22, 2015.
The judge, however, did not look into the register and took the soft copy of the thumb impression alone on file. Counsel for UIDAI Zoheb Hossain contended that there was a legal bar on sharing biometric information of Aadhaar applicants.
Mr. Hossain said out that Section 29 (1) (a) and (b) of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act of 2016 states that no ‘core biometric information,’ collected or created under the Act, should be shared with anyone for any reason whatsoever or used for any purpose other than generation and authentication of Aadhaar numbers.
After hearing him, the judge said the legal plea raised by UIDAI could be decided later. He directed its counsel to first file an affidavit by December 15 disclosing whether Ms. Jayalalithaa had ever applied for Aadhaar card, whether her biometric details were recorded, and whether an Aadhaar card was issued to her. Further hearing has been adjourned to December 15.
