UIDAI Tells Madras HC: No Aadhaar Data for Deceased Individuals
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has informed the Madras High Court that it is not feasible to compare the fingerprints of deceased individuals with the Aadhaar database to help identify an unknown body. This response came after the Tamil Nadu police filed a request seeking Aadhaar data for the purpose of identifying a deceased person.
In a counter affidavit filed before Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan, UIDAI clarified that the Aadhaar Act, 2016 imposes strict legal restrictions on sharing personal information, limiting the ability to provide any demographic data without proper authorization. Furthermore, the affidavit pointed out that there are significant technological barriers preventing the extraction of data for the deceased from the Aadhaar system.
The UIDAI's submission emphasized the challenges posed by both legal constraints and technical limitations in utilizing biometric data from the deceased for identity verification. This case highlights ongoing concerns regarding the practical and legal limitations of the Aadhaar system in certain sensitive contexts.