Aadhaar data leaked, but not from UIDAI, Centre tells SC

May 4, 2017

New Delhi, May 4: Maintaining that no technology is foolproof, the Centre on Wednesday admitted before the Supreme Court that Aadhaar card holders’ data was leaked.

The Union government, however, asserted that the leak was not from the UIDAI’s end. A batch of petitions against the decision to link PAN with Aadhaar cards in filing Income-Tax returns, however, questioned the move, saying it was in complete collision due to repeated claims by the government that Aadhaar is voluntary.

Advocate Arghya Sengupta, arguing for the Centre, submitted before a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the leakage was by various other government departments and state agencies. He said the leakage could have occurred on account of lack of balancing transparency and data protection concerns.

His response came as the bench cited reports in the newspapers on Wednesday about leakage of Aadhaar data. The counsel said there could be some errors here and there, but the UID remains the most sophisticated and authentic biometric system.

He said that the legislature was competent to enact Section 139AA, which was inserted in the Income Tax Act under the Finance Act, 2017. “There is no absolute right to informational self-determination,” Sengupta said.

“The issue was not about discriminating between people on the basis of their having Aadhaar, but the purpose for UID was to prevent duplication and to ensure targeted delivery of services to the identified sections,” he said.

He said the government may replace PAN with Aadhaar if such a need arises. During the hearing, the bench asked, “...in a tax regime, one cannot say that he will not pay tax. The question is, a person is ready to pay tax, whether he can say that I will pay tax in the manner I want.”

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, said the Centre cannot wash its hands off by saying that UIDAI was not leaking data. “The law says life and body is paramount and if the fingerprints of an individual are stolen, it might end his identity,” he said. The arguments will continue on Thursday.

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Sam Pitroda quits as Indian Overseas Congress chief after controversial remark

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May 8,2024

Congress leader Sam Pitroda has stepped down from the post of Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress and his resignation was accepted by the party. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X and announced that Sam Pitroda had decided to resign from the key post "of his own accord".

Pitroda had been under fire over his controversial remark that Indians in the East resemble the Chinese while those in the South look like Africans.

"We could hold together a country as diverse as India -- where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africans. It doesn't matter. We are all brothers and sisters," Pitroda said during an interview with The Statesman.

The Congress immediately distanced itself from Pitroda's remarks, terming them "unacceptable".

"The analogies drawn by Mr Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India's diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from these analogies," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

The BJP also hit out at the Congress over Pitroda's remarks and termed them "racist and divisive".

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‘Sufficient evidence’: Delhi court orders framing of sexual harassment charges against Brij Bhushan

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May 10,2024

New Delhi: In a big blow to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a Delhi court has ordered the framing of charges against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief in the sexual harassment allegations levelled by women wrestlers. The court has said there is sufficient evidence on record to do so, and the trial against him can now begin.

Friday's order by the Rouse Avenue court comes days after the BJP decided not to repeat Mr Singh, who is the party MP from Uttar Pradesh's Kaiserganj, as the candidate from the constituency and decided to field his son Karan Bhushan Singh instead.

The court has ordered the framing of charges under Indian Penal Code sections Ordered to frame charges against Brij Bhushan under sections 354 (outraging a woman's modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet against under these sections and one additional section - 354D (stalking) - on June 15 last year.

Charges should also be framed against the former assistant secretary of the Federation, Vinod Tomar, under Section 506, the court said.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot said the charges will be framed against Mr Singh for sexually harassing five wrestlers and that he stands discharged in the allegations levelled by the sixth.

The six-time MP has been at the centre of a huge political storm since last year, when sexual harassment charges were levelled against him and protesters had hit the streets led by Olympic medallists Sakshee Malikkh and Bajrang Punia, as well as Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist Vinesh Phogat.

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