Justice K.S.Puttaswamy(Retd) vs Union Of India on 26 September, 2018 information is concerned, it included name, date of birth, address, gender, mobile number and email address. The latter two are optional and meant for transmitting relevant information to the AMH and for One Time Password (OTP) based authentication. This information was in respect of an individual and is always in public domain. Section 2(k) of the Aadhaar Act specifically provides that regulations cannot include race, religion, caste, tribe, ethnicity, language, records of entitlement, income or medical history. Therefore, sensitive information specifically stands excluded. This specific exclusion, in the context, ensures that the scope of including additional demographic information is very narrow and limited. It was also argued that even the biometric information was limited to the fingerprints and iris scan, which is considered to be the core biometric information. Such information is, again, frequently utilised globally to ascertain the identity of a person. The argument was, thus, that the information gathered was non- invasive and non-intrusive identity information. 145) It was also argued that the very scheme of the Aadhaar and the manner in which it operates excludes every possibility of data profiling and, therefore, the question of State surveillance would not arise. The powerpoint presentation which was given by Dr. Pandey, as has been stated above, was referred to, on the basis of which it was argued that the Aadhaar design takes full care of security of persons. 146) It was also argued by the respondents that identity information data resides in the CIDR which is not in the control of the Government or the police force. The Authority is a body constituted as a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal. It is regulated by substantive and procedural checks to protect the identity information and authentication record. This information cannot be published, displayed or posted publicly. It does not have the authority to carry out surveillance. The State Governments and the police forces cannot obtain the information contained in the CIDR or the authentication records except in two situations contemplated by Section 33 (i) When the District Judge orders so after giving an opportunity of hearing to the authority (even in this situation core biometric information will not be shared; and (ii) in the interest of National Security where a Joint Secretary or a superior officer of the Government of India specially authorizes in this behalf, and in this case every direction is reviewed by an oversight committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Further, this direction is limited for three months and extendable by a further period of 3 months. 147) It was submitted that surveillance, if at all, can only be carried out by unauthorised use of CIDR information, despite its statutory prohibition and punitive injunctions or by other means such as physical surveillance. That is, however, an illegal surveillance. The architecture of the Act does not allow surveillance. It was submitted that the petitioners have not made out a case of surveillance by the Authority but points out a mere possibility of surveillance. 148) We may reiterate that the argument of surveillance also has the reflections of privacy and in fact the argument is structured on the basis that the vital information which would be available with the Government can be utilised to create the profiling of individuals and retention of such information in the hands of the respondents is a risky affair which may enable the State to do the surveillance of any individual it wants. Indian Kanoon - http://indiankanoon.org/doc/127517806/ 120

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