The Delhi High Court has directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to provide information on fake Aadhaar cards being allegedly issued to around 450 persons for civil defence training in the Capital.
The case is based on a complaint by BJP leader Vijender Gupta in January 2020 at Delhi’s Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) stating that the hiring process of marshals for Delhi Transport Corporation buses, which recruits civil defence volunteers, was “illegal and manipulated”. The complaint further said that Kuldeep Pakad, then District Magistrate (DM) of Shahdara, had issued fake certificates to over 400 people from his home state Rajasthan. The certificates validated them as Delhi residents so that they could enrol for Aadhaar cardswith local address proof. Mr. Pakad had compelled them to pay ₹2 lakh per head.
It was also alleged that a large number of Aadhaar cards with false Delhi addresses were made for residents of Rajasthan at the Aadhaar centre in the DM’s office on August 11 and 12, 2019, despite both the days being holidays.
Following the complaint, an FIR was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the ACB and the Delhi government moved the High Court.
Advocate Kusum Dhalla, additional public prosecutor of the Delhi government, told the High Court that in the course of investigation conducted so far, it has emerged that Mr. Pakad along with others had committed criminal misconduct by abusing their official position as public servants with an ulterior motive to give benefit to ineligible persons. In total, approximately 450 candidates with fake Aadhar cards had enrolled for training in civil defence, Ms. Dhalla said.
“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,” Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said.
“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 Judge added.
Ms. Dhalla said that the information sought by the investigation agency was crucial for establishing the forgery committed and would help in securing the ends of justice. She said that disclosure of such information by UIDAI “in no way amounts to an invasion of the right to privacy of the cardholders”.
UIDAI’s counsel Ms. Nidhi Raman said that the authority was ready to share has no objection to sharing the information being sought.
