A fait accompli to Supreme Court? VIEWPOINT

RS Prasad “No one is forcing (sic) to link Aadhaar with all facilities.” September 10, 2017. This is true. A public toilet is a facility. You need not provide an Aadhaar number before walking into a Sulabh Sauchalaya and losing weight. Not yet, anyway.

Bank ATMs are plastered with signs threatening to lock bank accounts that are not linked to Aadhaar. On a daily basis, I receive messages from my mobile service provider, “As per the directives of the Supreme Court, it is mandatory to link your mobile with Aadhaar.”

When I requested the municipal corporation for copies of my parents’ death certificates (both passed away before 2010), I was asked to provide their Aadhaar numbers, my Aadhaar, and the Aadhaars of my grandparents (the last of whom passed away in 1985). My nephew has to provide his Aadhaar to sit for exams.

I-T returns must be linked. Those who filed I-T returns before the date when Aadhaar became mandatory have been told “informally” (that is, with no written notice) that claimed refunds will not be processed until they link.

“Informality” is a wonderful way to grease governance. It leaves no inconvenient records. The last date for linking bank accounts to Aadhaar is December 31, 2017. But the Supreme Court is due to hear petitions challenging this, and other linkages, in November.

Given the recent verdict on privacy being a fundamental right, there is apprehension in government circles that their Lordships may declare linkages unnecessary. Hence, friends in the banking system tell me there are “informal instructions” to get everybody to link Aadhaar to bank accounts before the hearings. If all bank accounts are linked anyway, the court can be presented with a fait accompli.

The mobile linkage instructions are formal. The DoT directive, dated March 23, 2017, seems to be based on a deliberate misreading of Supreme Court instructions. This is about “Implementation of Hon Supreme Court regarding 100% eKYC-based re-verification of existing subscribers”. It has detailed instructions for the use of Aadhaar and only Aadhaar. Telecom service providers are being told to complete this re-verification by February 6, 2018.

The Supreme Court had said that reverifying mobile numbers would be desirable. But it had also said that Aadhaar could not be made mandatory. Again, the government would like to present the court with a fait accompli by November, stating that all or most mobile numbers are linked, anyway.

Why do privacy advocates care so much? It’s about silos. Different arms of government have enormous powers and those powers are open to misuse by functionaries. The I-T department can freeze bank accounts. An officer can hold up refunds. The RBI can hold up foreign remittances. The police can tap phones. A policeman can ask for a bribe. The Motors Vehicles Departments can cancel driving licences. The UPSC and other education boards can debar people from sitting in exams. The Election Commission can strike someone off the voters’ rolls. Municipal corporations can seize or demolish property. The civil aviation ministry can ban somebody from flying.

But the departments are silos. The I-T department knows PANs and tax returns but not voter ID. The Election Commission does not know PANs. The police can tap your phone. But they need to ask the I-T department, and the Election Commission for these data.

Aadhaar links silos. It is a force multiplier for coordinating surveillance and coercion. It’s also leaky. Multiple private databases are already linked to it with many details. So private enterprise (including hackers) can and already are also abusing it. It’s biometric. Biometric data can be easily digitally copied and faked, and a compromised account is very hard to re-secure. You cannot change your fingerprints, date of birth, or even your name easily.

R S Prasad “The process to link Aadhaar with driving licences would be set in motion soon” Sep 16, 2017. So, yet another “non-facility” will fall under this malign umbrella.

It’s up to the Supreme Court now. If their lordships make the wrong call in November, the entire nation will be stripped digitally naked.