Aadhaar data breach threat violates fundamental rights, Kapil Sibal tells SC

Kapil Sibal is appearing for one of the 30 petitioner who have challenged the Aadhaar law in the Supreme Court.

Attacking the provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016 that innocuously allow private parties to insist on Aadhaar for establishing the identity of any individual, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it is unconstitutional.

A view of the Supreme Court in New Delhi (Sonu Mehta/HT File Photo)

Appearing for one of the 30 petitioners who challenged the government’s 12-digit biometric identification number, Sibal said “the potential threat of misuse of sensitive data by private agencies amounts to violation of fundamental rights of the citizens”.

Sibal told the five-judge bench hearing the Aadhaar case that it makes people vulnerable. “I am not talking about the misuse by the state but in the absence of assurance of safety, all is compromised. Aadhaar is making individuals vulnerable and that is where the violation of Article 21 comes in,” Sibal added.

On the technical aspects, Sibal said despite UIDAI claims that Aadhaar data is secure, it’s a security threat. He cited an RBI report that identified the CIDR as “a single point of attack” and a “single point of failure.”