SC refuses plea to use Aadhaar to trace identity of unidentified bodies

Aadhaar card

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking a direction to the Centre and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to utilise Aadhaar biometrics of unidentified dead bodies to trace their identity. A bench of justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta said that petitioner Amit Sahni should approach the Delhi High Court as he has already filed a plea there for using Aadhaar biometrics for the purpose of tracing and re-uniting missing and mentally challenged persons with their families.

"We are not inclined to entertain this plea," the bench said after which the petitioner withdrew his petition. In his plea, Sahni had sought a direction to the Centre, UIDAI, National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) and all the states to scan biometrics of unidentified dead bodies and process them with Aadhaar portal to trace any pre-existing biometric details. He had sought directions to the Centre and UIDAI to share pre-existing Aadhaar details, if already there, without any delay with the NCRB and states for identification of dead bodies.

"In case the biometrics of the dead body, pre-exists on Aadhaar biometrics/portal, then directions be issued to share Aadhaar details of such dead persons with the respondents immediately without any delay, so as to ensure, the handing over the dead body to the family/relatives of such deceased so that respectable and dignified exit could be ensured by performing last rites of such dead bodies by affected family/persons," the plea had said. It had sought directions to constitute special courts for speedy disposal of cases pertaining to unidentified dead bodies under Aadhaar Act on the same day or the next day, irrespective of holiday.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court had on September 26 declared the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid but had struck down some of its provisions including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones and school admissions. The bench had held that while Aadhaar would remain mandatory for filing of Income Tax returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), it will not be compulsory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections.

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