Biometric details from states’ databases erased after enforcement of Aadhaar Act: Gujarat govt to SC

After enforcement of the Aadhaar Act, biometric details stored in the State Resident Data hubs have been destroyed, the Supreme Court was told on Thursday.

Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Gujarat government, conveyed this to a five-judge constitution bench headed by the Chief Justice of India. The apex court bench is hearing a batch of petitions questioning the validity of the Aadhaar Act.

Data hubs were created by the Information Technology (IT) department using data collected by UIDAI to identify beneficiaries of government schemes. The Aadhaar Act does not contemplate storage of biometric information at the state level. “The details will be stored only in the Central Identities Data Registry now,” said Dwivedi.

Advocate Gopal Subramanium, arguing for some of the petitioners said, “It began as the database for the poor. Then, goes on to cover the whole population”.

“In the absence of a data protection law, the vulnerability to data leakage has increased,” Subramanium added, referring to the earlier directions of the apex court wherein it had said that Aadhaar could be used for schemes like the Public Distribution System (PDS).

He further said that the court had the power to set-up proper forums to identify those who had been affected because of the state not adhering to the court orders, saying that the court should compensate them. The matter will next come up for hearing on March 6.