Prof. Shamnad Basheer has filed a Petition before the Delhi High Court seeking action against the UIDAI and NIC for not adhering to secure practices, exemplary damages for the data leaks and the provision to opt out of Aadhaar, LiveLaw reports. Premising his PIL on the data leaks causing a violation of the fundamental right to privacy that was upheld in the Puttaswamy Judgment, the petition alternatively seeks a Writ of Mandamus directing the Central government to delete all Aadhaar numbers. The Aadhaaris The petition refers to Aadhaar holders as "Aadhaaris" and begins with a poem: Grass seemed greener on the Aadhaar side Seduced by its spell, I got taken for a ride Linking my card, not once but twice Lulled by its lore and some lies But soon I found That Aadhaar was unsound Privacy breaches and bunglings galore Data pirates so desperate to score My unique ID is now up in the air Open to all, both foul and fair Yet the “authority” insists that all is well Link some more…and we’ll all be swell! To our courts therefore, I now do turn For privacy, justice, and a little less burn The petition then traces the history of Aadhaar and its change from being a voluntary scheme into its now near mandatory form. and ubiquitous linkages with essential services, including banking, filing taxes and mobile phones magnifying the privacy concerns caused by the data breaches. The petition explicitly clarifies that it does not challenge the constitutional validity of the…
