Aadhaar verdict: Can you sue UIDAI and its licensed entities for offence?

In its verdict on Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC) scrapped Section 47 of the Aadhaar Act which means that individual Aadhaar cardholders or citizens can file criminal complaints against the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and its licensed entities, if a suitable amendment is brought by the Government and Parliament, say legal experts.

Section 47 of the Aadhaar Act stated that only the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), or a person or officer authorized by it, could register and file criminal complaints against individuals or companies for offences under Aadhaar Act.

"This was a contentious part as people were worried as to how they could get legal recourse for breaches of Aadhaar security, especially when UIDAI was unwilling to accept that data breaches are a reality. You can look at the Airtel Payments Bank scam where bank accounts were created for people without their knowledge. So this was a subversion of the principle of natural justice," says Raghu Godavar, member of advocacy group, RethinkAadhaar.