The Delhi High Court has sought a status report from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on whether it can help the Delhi Police identify a suspect using its Aadhaar biometric database for an investigation, without violating provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, according to an Indian Express report. The Delhi Police had asked the court to intervene so that the UIDAI could run crime scene fingerprints and suspect photographs through its database and help identify the suspect. “Of course you will not supply it. You will not be sharing it. They will give you the biometric, fingerprints. If it tallies, you will tell that it will tally with this person. You will not share with them (the biometric information), certainly not,” Justice Mukta Gupta is quoted as saying in the report. Section 29 of the Aadhaar Act prohibits the sharing of Aadhaar biometric data even for the purposes of aiding police investigations. But the Delhi Police's petition was filed under section 33 (1) of the Aadhaar Act under which a High Court judge can issue directions to the UIDAI to share identity information in certain cases. The outcome of this case could potentially encourage police forces in other states to similarly approach the UIDAI for such purposes. The matter has been listed for hearing next on April 28, although the UIDAI has been asked to file its status report within 4 weeks. What is the case? According to the Indian Express, the investigation pertains to a 2018 case…
