In response to the UIDAI's claim that Aadhaar data has never been breached, academician and lawyer Shamnad Basheer suggested the constitution of a neutral, court-ordered committee to independently ascertain the extent of Aadhaar data breaches, reports Bar & Bench. Basheer suggested this as part of a rejoinder he filed in the Delhi High Court, seeking damages for Aadhaar leaks. In its counter-affidavit filed in February, UIDAI had sought dismissal of the PIL on grounds that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, that the UIDAI database had never been breached, and that the petition was based on unsubstantiated facts. Basheer's rejoinder to the court argues that: The statements made by UIDAI in its counter-affidavit were false, misleading, and vague. His petition was not based on 'unsubstantiated news reports and surmises'. He arguing that it relied on credible sources, including a report published by a reputed think tank and MeitY's reply to the Rajya Sabha. Newspaper reports were cited in allegations of data breaches. "Indeed in many of the instances of reported breaches, the Respondent through press releases, registration of FIRs and initiation of other proceedings has validated the occurrence of these events." Any suggestion by UIDAI that the petition challenged the Constitutional validity of the Aadhaar act, linking of Aadhaar with PAN, bank account etc, was false and misleading. UIDAI's claims that Aadhaar has a strong security infrastructure have been refuted by instances of breaches in the public domain. UIDAI's claim of having a fraud…
