The Bombay High Court has directed the Union government and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to consider amending the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, to enable prompt tracing and deportation of foreign nationals living illegally in India.
Mumbai Police plea
The court said probe agencies had reported that such persons engaged in anti-national activities after securing these fraudulent documents. The court observed that foreign nationals had obtained Aadhaar cards through fraudulent means to claim Indian identity and conceal their true identity. The court observed a gap in inter-agency coordination and document-verification procedures. The Bench opined that a concerted effort was needed by all State and Central agencies to trace and deport such foreign nationals on a priority basis. The court observed that time was of the essence and that delay in procedures should not benefit infiltrators. The observations were made while dealing with a plea filed by the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai Police through the State. The plea sought a direction to the UIDAI to disclose the documents used by one Majid Khan Shah Hajrat Shah, alias Miraj Tahir Khan, to obtain an Aadhaar card. The State petitioned the High Court to seek details of the documents Shah used to obtain an Aadhaar card. The UIDAI contended that such details could be provided to the investigating agency only upon a court order.
A Division Bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata on July 27 issued the order, which was made available on Tuesday. The UIDAI cited Section 29 of the Aadhaar Act, which prohibits disclosure of details regarding an individual’s Aadhaar card or documents.
The Bench said that the availability of Aadhaar cards obtained through fraudulent means creates vulnerabilities across identity, immigration, and security systems.
The Bench noted that multiple cases had come before the court of foreign nationals illegally entering India and fraudulently obtaining basic documents.
