SC upholds Aadhaar validity but says no need to link to bank accounts, mobile phones

The court has placed strict restrictions on the scope of the project while striking down contentious provisions of the Aadhaar Act.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the Aadhaar programme and the Aadhaar Act 2016 to be constitutional, but placed strict limitations on the scope of the project while striking down several contentious provisions of the legislation including clauses that allowed sharing of data for national security purposes and the usage of the biometric authentication system by private corporations.

In a three-judge majority order, the court also read down the five-year rule for archival storage of transaction logs and also struck down any storage of metadata with regard to Aadhaar authentication.

Of the five judge-bench that delivered the verdict, three justices delivered separate opinions. Justice A.K. Sikri delivered the majority opinion, with Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar concurring with him.

In his majority opinion, Justice Sikri noted that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory and linked to bank accounts, mobile phone connections and a number of education schemes. In particular, the judge called out the changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which laid the foundation for mandatory Aadhaar-bank linking, as “unconstitutional” and noted that it did not satisfy the test of proportionality.

However, Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act has been upheld, which means that Aadhaar-linking will be required while filing income-tax returns.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan have written separate opinions, with the former having partially dissented on a number of points.

In a three-judge mjajority verdict, the SC has upheld Aadhaar but placed several limitations. Credit: The Wire

Which sections of the Aadhaar Act have been struck or read down?
While Justice Sikri noted that the purpose of the Aadhaar Act was “legitimate” and that a “balancing test had been satisfied as Aadhaar only collected minimal data”, he noted that several parts of the legislation needed to be struck and read down. They are:

Section 57: The clause states that “nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the use of Aadhaar number for establishing the identity of an individual for any purpose, whether by the State or any body corporate or person…” (emphasis added).

This provision has allowed an ecosystem of private players to use the biometric authentication system to provide identity-based services and applications. This has now been struck down

Section 33 (ii): This part of the legislation allowed disclosure of identity information and Aadhaar authentication data if “made in the interest of national security” and if done in pursuance of a “direction of an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary”.

This has now been struck down. Sikri stated that the “joint secretary mechanism is “arbitrary” and would require a judicial warrant.

Section 47: This contentious provision noted that “no court should take cognisance of any offence punishable under the Act save on a complaint made by the Authority (UIDAI)”.

This has now been struck down, with Sikri stating that even individuals should be entitled to file complaints if they have a grievance.

Section 2 (d): This part noted that an Aadhaar “authentication record” would include the “record of the time of authentication, identity of the requesting entity and the respones provided by the Authority”.

The majority opinion has said this will be read down to not include metadata of transactions, which presumably includes all of the above.

Dismisses exclusion and money bill concerns
Two of the issues raised by petitioners revolved around welfare exclusion concerns and that the legislative process surrounding the Aadhaar Act was flawed as it was introduced a money bill in Parliament.

The majority judgement appears to have dismissed these concerns. In his opinion and summary of the judgement, Justice Sikri noted that the Aadhaar Act could have been passed as a money bill.

When it came to people being denied entitlements and rations because of Aadhaar-based technology, Justice Sikri noted that while it was “concerning”, throwing out the whole Act on this basis would be “throwing out the baby with the bathwater”.

“Unconstitutional”, says Justice Chandrachud’s dissenting opinion
In his partially dissenting opinion, Justice DY Chandrachud  has disagreed on a number of crucial issues. In the parts that he read out in cart, the judge noted that  that Aadhaar could not have been a money bill and that passing it as such was a “subterfuge”.

While the Aadhaar Act is legitimate, he said, it did not have “enough robust safeguards as to informed consent and individual rights such as opt-out”. As The Wirehas reported, the petitioners had stated that if Aadhaar is to be held voluntary, it would require an opt-out option for people who had already had signed up but now wanted to remove themselves from the programme.

On the core issue of whether the unique identification projected violated the fundamental right to privacy, Justice Chandrachud has disagreed to a great extent from the majority opinion. In remarks in open court, he noted that the project is “completely violative of privacy”.

“Constitutional guarantees cannot be subjected to probability algorithms and technological vicissitudes,” he said.

In sharp contrast to Justice Sikri and the majority opinion, which held that profiling is not possible as a result of the Aadhaar initiative, Justice Chandrachud noted that the not only have the government’s claims on security “not been convincing enough”, but have also fallen short of standards required to protect privacy and data protection.

Justice Ashok Bhushan goes down the middle
In the parts of his opinion that were read out in court, Justice Bhushan largely walked a middle-line between Justice Chandrachud’s sharply dissenting opinion and the majority opinion pronounced by Justice Sikri.

The judge noted that “implementation problems and shortcomings” do not make Section 7 (which mandates Aadhaar for India’s welfare system) as unconstitutional. “No material record to say that exclusion has increased post-Aadhaar,” Justice Bhushan noted.

On the issue of whether the Aadhaar project violates the right to privacy and the legitimacy of the Aadhaar Act as a money bill, Justice Bhushan has also split down the middle. While he believes that there is no “violation of privacy” as it passes the “three-fold-test” laid out in the 9-bench decision on privacy, he added that the “certification as a money bill” can be reviewed by the court.

‘Little relief to the poor’
In her initial reactions on the Aadhaar judgement, IIT-Delhi professor Reetika Khera, who has extensively studied the impact of the UID programme on welfare schemes, notes that it will provide “little relief to the poor”.

“The Aadhaar verdict is disappointing, but I am not dejected or defeated by today’s verdict,” Khera said in a statement.

“Disappointed because apart from striking down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act the majority opinion provides little relief to the poor from Aadhaar (under Section 7), in terms of accessing essential entitlements. On this, it is disappointing that the judges who have signed the majority opinion have believed the government’s false assurances that nobody will be denied their entitlements due to Aadhaar. We know that the governments have been blatantly violating the Supreme Court’s orders since 2013, and in its present form, exclusion is built into the Aadhaar ecosystem,” she added.

(Source: The Wire)

Not Aadhaar, but marriage certificate for entering this Coimbatore park

The park 'requests' personal details such as name, address, phone number.

In a gross violation of privacy, a public park in Coimbatore is demanding marriage certificates of people who wish to enter its premises. In a shocking report that emerged on Saturday, M Kannan, a professor at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to which the park is attached is quoted as saying, “Fed-up with the couples using the park as their hiding and recreation area, the university has come up with this rule. We initially tried to put up rules and regulations such as seeking their ID proofs and asking details such as phone numbers. Despite all that, couples continued to behave inappropriately causing a lot of discomfort to other visitors. Students and families have also complained many times.”

However, when TNM contacted the Public Relations Officer, he refused to comment on the issue until Monday. Upon visiting the park, TNM found that the sign board near the entrance prominently mentions that all visitors are ‘requested to’ enter their name, address and phone number in the entry register. The board also ‘requests visitors to ‘maintain their dignity’ at the park, failing which ‘severe action’ could be taken.

One staff member at the park said, “Only families are allowed. School and college (students are) allowed. Only those who are married can come. If they come alone, we don’t send them, whether it is boys or girls.” Another staff member went so far as to suggest only those with the holy knot or thaali can enter the premises.

While the authorities seem to be covertly referring to public displays of affection by couples, masking it with words like ‘dignity’ and ‘nuisance’ is hardly going to put an end to the problem, especially not at the cost of personal and constitutional freedoms.

The Tamil Nadu Parks, Play-Fields and Open Spaces (Preservation and Regulation) Act, 1959 describes a park as “a place For the resort or the public for recreation, air or light.” However, the authorities seem to be taking issue with the recreation aspect of this definition.

Speaking to TNM, Prabhu, who had hoped to visit the park said, “We came here with friends to study. But according to the rules, we were not allowed inside. When we questioned this, the authorities said you are all lovers! They have decided without even asking.” Lamenting the lack of recreational spaces, Prabhu says, “In Coimbatore, there are not that many places we can go to for entertainment. If they take this away to based on unfounded suspicions, this is very bad. Today, it is lovers. Tomorrow it will be for a religion or a caste. This is bad for a democracy.

(Source: TNM)

Aadhaar data breach story reporter deserves award not FIR: Snowden

Instead of filing an FIR against the journalist behind the Aadhar data breach  story, the Indian government should reforming 'policies that destroyed the privacy of a billion Indians,' ardent privacy advocate Edward Snowden said.

An Indian daily's recent investigative report on access to Aadhaar data being sold via social media needs to be rewarded and not penalised, believes Edward Snowden, someone who has experience in being targeted by a government over a data leak.

Snowden, who famously leaked classified information that exposed a massive surveillance operation run by an American spy agency, today tweeted in support of the reporter behind the Aadhaar data breach story.

He also suggested that those who really need to be arrested are the authorities at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the body that runs the Aadhaar programme.

Snowden's comments, which came in an early-morning tweet, came against the backdrop of a Chandigarh-based daily publishing an investigative report alleging its reporter was able to purchase access to Aadhaar data from sellers over messaging application WhatsApp.

Following the publication of the report, the UIDAI, which denied 'data breach' had taken place, filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Delhi Police naming not just the people mentioned in the Aadhaar-data-for-sale story but also the reporter - Rachna Khaira - as well as the daily - The Tribune.

UIDAI's action has come under strong criticism with Snowden, who currently lives in Russia even as American law enforcement authorities attempt to get their hands on him, being the latest to condemn the decision to file an FIR against The Tribune and its reporter.

"The journalists exposing the #Aadhaar breach deserve an award, not an (police) investigation," the former United States government contractor said.

The journalists exposing the #Aadhaar breach deserve an award, not an investigation. If the government were truly concerned for justice, they would be reforming the policies that destroyed the privacy of a billion Indians. Want to arrest those responsible? They are called @UIDAI. https://t.co/xyewbK2WO2

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 8, 2018

"If the government were truly concerned for justice, they would be reforming the policies that destroyed the privacy of a billion Indians. Want to arrest those responsible? They are called @UIDAI," Snowden, an ardent privacy advocate, also said.

While he was a contractor for the US government, Snowden was employed with the country's National Security Agency. It was during his work the NSA that Snowden came across classified information that he ultimately leaked to newspapers to blow the lid off a massive surveillance programme that was being run by the spy agency.

Snowden's disclosures had led to worldwide concerns over privacy; similar concerns have been expressed in India over the Aadhaar programme, which is facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the UIDAI's action against The Tribune and its reporter over the Aadhaar data breach story has apparently pushed the government on the back foot with the minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad yesterday saying the administration is "fully committed to freedom of press" and that the FIR filed is "against unknown".

Govt. is fully committed to freedom of Press as well as to maintaining security & sanctity of #Aadhaar for India's development. FIR is against unknown. I've suggested @UIDAI to request Tribune & it's journalist to give all assistance to police in investigating real offenders.

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) January 8, 2018

The Tribune, which was backed by the Editors Guild of India in a strong statement, has vowed to defend its right to undertake investigative journalism.

Aadhaar uncovers around 130,000 ghost teachers in colleges

The teacher-student ratio, a measure of quality of education, which is already abysmal at 1:21, is set to worsen after the discovery of bogus teachers. The decision to use Aadhaar as proof of identity in the annual collation of data on teachers employed in higher education has led to an uncomfortable discovery: nearly a tenth of them turned out to be ghost teachers, writes Prashant K. Nanda in Live Mint. Read on: 

The decision to use Aadhaar as proof of identity in the annual collation of data on teachers employed in higher education has led to an uncomfortable discovery: nearly a tenth of them turned out to be ghost teachers.

Around 130,000 teachers were found to be fake, two people familiar with the details of the study said on condition of anonymity. India has about 1.4 million teachers in colleges and universities.

While the good news is that this will lead to a focus on improving the quality of teaching, the bad news is that the country has just found out that understaffing in higher education institutes is far greater than what has been estimated so far.

The human resource development (HRD) ministry in 2017 told colleges and universities across India that while furnishing data they need to give the 12-digit unique identification number or Aadhaar number of the faculty members to authenticate their presence, after education regulators received several complaints about bogus teachers across the education sector.

The key concern is that institutions are duplicating teachers’ data while seeking regulatory approval for courses or expansion of institutions and not recruiting fresh teachers, said one of the two officials, requesting anonymity. The details of the study will be unveiled sometime later this month.

“Aadhaar linkage was not made mandatory but we asked them to furnish it. Some reputed universities have not given Aadhaar data but whatever data has come, the faculty strength has gone down by around 10% in 2017,” said the second official.

Gauging the number of teachers is the second instance, after the midday meal scheme, when the HRD ministry has tried to reduce bogus enrolment through Aadhaar linkage. Photo: HT

This is the second instance, after the midday meal scheme, when the HRD ministry has tried to reduce bogus enrolment, either of students or teachers, through Aadhaar linkage and reduce pilferage.

The second official said the discovery of bogus teachers puts the spotlight on the problem of adverse teacher-student ratio. As of 2015-16, the teacher-student ratio, a parameter of teaching quality in higher educational institutes, was 1:21, less than the ideal 1:10. This ratio, after the discovery of bogus teachers, will worsen.

Raju Davis Parepadan, chairman of Kerala-based Holygrace Academy, which runs a chain of professional colleges, said the problem of bogus teachers is widespread.

“Institutions show names of professors on paper or on their website but actually they are not their employees. They get young contract teachers to take classes and bring those names written on the prospectus only when there is an inspection. You find a floating group of teachers who are on the fake rolls of several colleges,” said Parepadan.

He said linking Aadhaar is a “necessary evil” for many, if not the top-rung, colleges.

“When you link Aadhaar, you only have real teachers on rolls and that’s good for students. But to get quality teachers some institutes struggle as it increases their cost. For that, authorities also need to allow schools to hike fees, which often is not allowed,” said Parepadan, adding that in Kerala, school students are mandated to link Aadhaar to keep a tab on teachers’ requirement.

Your Aadhaar details on sale for Rs 2-5: How can govt make sure your data is safe?

Nandan Nilekani's trailblazing biometric ID system, apparently modelled on first FBI director J Edgar Hoover's massive central database of fingerprints, is in spotlight after reports of a cyber attack which leaked Aadhaar data. A report by The Tribune had claimed that one of its reporters paid just Rs 500 to an 'online agent' to access names, addresses, PINs, photos, phone numbers and emails of more than 1 million numbers.

However, an India Today investigation has revealed that the Aadhaar data breach racket is not merely online, but could be widespread with agents at several enrolment agencies willing to part with demographic records collected from Aadhaar applicants for Rs 2-5.

Enrolment agencies are entities hired by the Registrars for enrolment of residents during which demographic and biometric data are collected as per UIDAI enrolment process, according to uidai.gov.in.

One such enrolment agency is Alankit Assignments Limited, located in Faridabad. "You can see for yourself," said Alankit's branch head Ishpal Singh when asked is this Aadhar data as he planked an entire file of 250 applicants on his desk.

YOUR CHOICE- SCAN THROUGH OR COPY DATA
"I can give you data of 15,000 applicants for Rs 30,000," a brazen Singh, who is the branch head of Alankit, told India Today reporters, who posed as businessmen seeking to expand their database of potential customers. He was ready to provide an applicant's name, address, birth date, mobile numbers and email for merely Rs 2.

Subsequently, Singh advised the India Today reporters to copy down every bit of information from his dossiers right there. "I will give you a bundle of 250 forms (application acknowledgements). I have records of 50,000 applicants. You can note down all the data."

The probe shows how Section 28 of the Aadhaar Act, which states that the UIDAI must ensure the security and confidentiality of identity information and authentication records, is brazenly flouted. "The Authority shall adopt and implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures, and ensure the same are imposed through agreements/arrangements with its agents, consultants, advisors or other persons," Section 28 further states.

PRIVACY GONE FOR A TOSS
Nilekani, the architect of Aadhaar, had vouched for its security last April. "It's a very, very secure system. The level of encryption that Aadhaar has is way above any other system today, including in the private sector. Plus, security keeps getting enhanced," he had said.

Another enrolment centre at Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, was willing to sell data of 4-5 lakh applicants. Senior official Ashish Gupta offered the database not only from this facility, but also from three others under his command in Delhi.

"I'll get the data on an Excel sheet," Gupta replied when asked if he could offer information about all the applicants in Indirapuram. He is ready to provide all this data for Rs3-5 per applicant.

An Aadhaar enrolment centre at Sector 10, Noida, was no different with the main agent, Sonu, demanding Rs 4-5 per applicant. "I have made 40,000 Aadhaar cards so far." He offered PDF copies of acknowledgements of applicant's information.

These agents are operating with blatant disregard for the Aadhaar Act. Section 37 of the Act says "intentional disclosure or dissemination of identity information, to any person not authorised under the Aadhaar Act, or in violation of any agreement entered into under the Act, will be punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to ten thousand rupees (in case of an individual), and fine up to one lakh rupees (in case of a company)".

WHAT UIDAI CLAIMES
Meanwhile, the UIDAI has reiterated that Aadhaar data cannot be hacked.

A day after The Tribune reported breach of the unique ID records, the UIDAI insisted the system is fully equipped to deal with any leaks.

In a statement, the authority emphasised "there has not been any Aadhaar data breach. The Aadhaar data, including biometric information, is fully safe and secure."

Claims of bypassing or duping the Aadhaar enrolment system, it said, are totally unfounded. "Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure and has robust uncompromised security. The UIDAI Data Centres are infrastructure of critical importance and is protected accordingly with high technology conforming to the best standards of security and also by legal provisions."

But reports of data leaks triggered a strong political reaction from opposition leaders.

In a tweet, communist leader Sitaram Yechury demanded the government roll back its order to link Aadhaar with bank accounts.

The perils of making Aadhaar mandatory and linking it to bank accounts, as insisted upon by Modi govt, are visible here. Do we need more proof to stop this madness? https://t.co/9OEbitCmDO

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) January 4, 2018

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala described the reports of data theft as a "mockery" of the citizens' right to privacy.

‘AADHAR’ data breached yet again!

As every citizen’s personal information is exposed to hackers everyday & ‘Right to Privacy’ is mocked and flouted with impunity, Modi Govt remains immune.

Is anyone listening?https://t.co/UDSfOlSWv9

— Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) January 4, 2018

(Source: India Today)

Afraid of Aadhaar misuse? Here’s a guide to track its usage history!

You can now visit the UIDAI’s official website, and easily track the history of your Aadhaar card. This will enable you to know the details where the unique identification code was used, writes Jovita Aranha in The Better India. Read on: 

As per a notification from the Department of Revenue, the Government of India has made it mandatory for Aadhaar cardholders to link their 12 digit unique identification number to their bank accounts by December 31, 2017.

So, if you have linked your Aadhaar card to your bank account, is the fear of your biometric IDs being misused stressing you out or holding you back?

If yes, then it is time to heave a sigh of relief! To tackle the growing concerns of citizens about the safety of linking their Aadhaar cards to accounts that hold confidential information, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has made available the option of retrieving the history of Aadhaar card usage, for a period of time.

You can now visit the UIDAI’s official website, and easily track the history of your Aadhaar card. This will enable you to know the details where the unique identification code was used.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you track your card usage history details:

1. Go to the official website of the UIDAI – uidai.gov.in

2. Go to the Aadhaar services tab and click on ‘Aadhaar Authentication History.’

3. This will redirect you to a new page. You need to enter your unique Aadhar number here.

4. Click on generate OTP after filling the security code given in the box

5. This will open a new page. You can now select the type of authentication you want to check here from a list of options.

The options available include biometrics, demographics, OTP, demographic & biometric, biometric & OTP and demographic & OTP options. If you wish to check every entry made through your Aadhaar, select the option ‘All.’

6. Remember UIDAI can provide you with a history of usage from the last seven months till date. You have to now enter the date range for which you want to retrieve the history.

7. Enter the generated OTP and click on ‘Submit.’

You will now see search results listing the date, time and type of Aadhaar authentication used. It is important to note that the page won’t be able to show you who made the requests.

But in case, the history and the details reveal something dubious, you can lock and unlock your Aadhaar information online, whenever you need to use it.

Over the last months, the Government has made linking of Aadhaar card at various levels mandatory. Apart from linking your Aadhaar to your bank account, PAN card and mobile phone number, you are also required to link your Aadhaar for filing IT returns, to hold mutual funds, insurance policies, PPF and using small savings schemes like Kisan Vikas Patra.

Aadhaar-bank a/c linking: RBI says never issued any order in this regard

Amidst banks and the government urging people to link their Aadhaar with bank accounts by December 31, an RTI query has revealed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) never issued any directions in this regard.

In reply to an RTI query filed by MoneyLife, the central bank said it "has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory liking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts." The RBI was responding to a specific query made for availing copy of the file along with file notings regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts.

An RTI query has revealed that the Reserve Bank of India never issued any directions regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar and bank accounts

In a notification dated June 1, 2017, the government had said that bank accounts not linked to Aadhaar will be declared inoperable post December 31.

The RTI query also explicitly asked if the apex bank had taken permission from the Supreme Court for mandatory linking of bank accounts with Aadhaar. The RBI replied saying it has not filed any petition before the SC.

Aadhaar has been a huge point of debate in recent times and its validity has been questioned by many. The Supreme Court has restricted its usage for six schemes (banking services not being one of them). The apex court is also due to hear petitions questioning the validity of Aadhaar.

(Source: DC)

Aadhaar-SIM linking fraud: Man loses Rs 1.3 lakh from his salary account

The Rs 1.3 lakh fraud allegedly happened in the name of linking Aadhaar with SIM. According to one Shashwat Gupta, he lost Rs 1.3 lakhs from his ICICI Bank salary account due to Aadhaar-SIM linking fraud.

This story gives a big lesson to all of us. The Rs 1.3 lakh fraud allegedly happened in the name of linking Aadhaar with SIM. According to one Shashwat Gupta, he lost Rs 1.3 lakhs from his ICICI Bank salary account due to Aadhaar-SIM linking fraud. Shashwat Gupta has written a detailed post on his Facebook account sharing what really happened and how he lost Rs 1.3 lakh from his salary account; the money he had saved for using during the worst times of his life. Shashwat also questioned about the security of his ICICI account. He is demanding that ICICI Bank should refund every single penny which he lost in this incident.

Below is the FULL FB POST revealing what happened with Shashwat:

“And in a blitz, my salary account was looted.

Hi guys! I just lost an amount of Rupees 1.3 lacs from my ICICI Bank salary account. A fraud, claiming to be from Airtel, gave me an ultimatum that Airtel would deactivate my SIM and block my number forever as I had not linked my Aadhar card to my SIM. He urged me to message my SIM card number to 121 (Official Airtel Service Number) and my SIM would be reactivated without any hassle. Little did I know that the fraudster would clone my SIM and loot all my hard earned money and also take away Investments (Fixed Deposits) that I had planned on using during the worst times of my life.

Is this all that was required to break my ICICI Bank Account? Is that how vulnerable technology have left us? I always thought that our accounts are well protected by layers of security. I was under the impression that a person would require my account details or debit card or some sensitive information that only I have, that I have been safeguarding every minute of my life, to break my account. But the truth is all that sensitive stuff is already floating around the criminal world waiting to be raided, as our beloved banks like ICICI Bank haven’t been able to keep what must only be ours, OURS!

It is unbelievable how easy it has become to steal from our accounts. All the fraudsters are doing is trying every trick they can think of to get that one tiny key that would break open a safe that seem to be safeguarded by hundred different locks.

The saddest part of this is, after the loot on day one, ICICI Bank was not able to protect the balance amount. Even after 18 hours of raising Service Request ( S/R 497438380 ) and repeated follow ups on customer care and branch, the Bank was not able to freeze my balance and as a result early next morning the fraudster was easily able to walk away with the remainder amount. Dear ICICI Bank, are your services supposed to end in crisis or are you supposed relieve the customers’ grievances and prevent further damage?

ICICI Bank needs to understand that a fraudster breaks much more than an account with his activities, he breaks a persons’ life.

I feel that the Bank has failed to protect my account effectively and are completely responsible for my losses. I hence demand ICICI Bank to refund every single penny I’ve lost in this incident.
I would also like to speak out to my friends here, guys please be careful and wary of these frauds. The people who we think are securing us, are actually the ones screwing us.”


Shashwat has tagged these profiles in the post too. “ICICI Bank Arun Jaitley Ravi Shankar Prasad Digital India Piyush Goyal Reserve Bank of India Narendra Modi #fraud #ICICIBank Aditi Mallick The Times of India TIMES NOW Hindustan Times MumbaiMirror.com DNA India Airtel India My Malishka DailyO Mumbai Police”

Reacting to the incident ICICI bank said:

ICICI Bank Hi Shashwat Gupta, we deeply regret the inconvenience caused to you. We have made a note of your SR number. Our official will get in touch with you.

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 · 6 October at 19:15

Airtel has also responded to the incident:

Airtel India Hi! Please be informed that as per the government initiative program it is advised not to share any kind of sensitive information to anyone over any kind of platforms as it may lead to fraudulent activities against the account. Further, request you to immediately report the query to the local authority. Thank you, Shivani R

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17

 · 6 October at 20:04

“Hi! Please be informed that as per the government initiative program it is advised not to share any kind of sensitive information to anyone over any kind of platforms as it may lead to fraudulent activities against the account. Further, request you to immediately report the query to the local authority. Thank you, Shivani R,” Airtel’s official FB profile wrote.

(Source: FE)

Supreme Court’s Right to Privacy judgment opens door to gay sex being decriminalised in India

‘The right to privacy and the protection of sexual orientation lie at the core of the fundamental rights,’ the court said.

The decision of the nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court to unanimously uphold a fundamental right to privacy on Thursday is being seen largely in terms of its likely impact on Aadhaar, the government’s massive unique identity project. But the judgment actually goes far beyond Aadhaar. Among the matters likely to be affected by the decision is the Supreme Court’s previous judgment upholding Section 377, a provision in the Indian Penal Code which criminalises gay sex.

A bench of Justice GS Singhvi and SK Mukhopdhaya had in 2013 upheld Section 377, even though the Delhi High Court had earlier struck it down for being discriminatory. The order, authored by Singhvi, pointed out that since only a “minuscule fraction of the country’s population” was affected by the issue, it was not sound enough basis to strike down a penal provision on grounds of discrimination.

Justice DY Chandrachud’s opinion in the Right to Privacy case, which was also signed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, Justice RK Agrawal and Justice S Abdul Nazeer, fully examines Singhvi’s judgment with a conclusion that should cheer those hoping to see 377 struck down yet again.

Excerpts from the order (emphases added):

“That ‘a miniscule fraction of the country’s population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgenders’ (as observed in the judgment of this Court) is not a sustainable basis to deny the right to privacy. The purpose of elevating certain rights to the stature of guaranteed fundamental rights is to insulate their exercise from the disdain of majorities, whether legislative or popular. The guarantee of constitutional rights does not depend upon their exercise being favourably regarded by majoritarian opinion. The test of popular acceptance does not furnish a valid basis to disregard rights which are conferred with the sanctity of constitutional protection. Discrete and insular minorities face grave dangers of discrimination for the simple reason that their views, beliefs or way of life does not accord with the ‘mainstream’. Yet in a democratic Constitution founded on the rule of law, their rights are as sacred as those conferred on other citizens to protect their freedoms and liberties. Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual. Equality demands that the sexual orientation of each individual in society must be protected on an even platform. The right to privacy and the protection of sexual orientation lie at the core of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.”

Chandrachud’s order brings up the matter as one of the “discordant notes” in the history of Indian jurisprudence when it comes to past approaches to privacy. Indeed, Chandrachud is quite clear about what he is doing here, saying that “when histories of nations are written and critiqued, there are judicial decisions at the forefront of liberty. Yet others have to be consigned to the archives, reflective of what was, but should never have been.”

He goes further in examining Singhvi’s decision in the 377 case, referred to as “Koushal”, based on the full title of the case, ‘Suresh Kumar Koushal vs Naz foundation.’

 “The view in Koushal that the High Court had erroneously relied upon international precedents ‘in its anxiety to protect the so-called rights of LGBT. persons’ is similarly, in our view, unsustainable. The rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population cannot be construed to be “so-called rights”. The expression ‘so-called’ seems to suggest the exercise of a liberty in the garb of a right which is illusory. This is an inappropriate construction of the privacy based claims of the LGBT population. Their rights are not ‘so-called’ but are real rights founded on sound constitutional doctrine. They inhere in the right to life. They dwell in privacy and dignity. They constitute the essence of liberty and freedom. Sexual orientation is an essential component of identity. Equal protection demands protection of the identity of every individual without discrimination.”

There is currently a petition for a larger bench to take up the matter of Section 377, so Chandrachud et al do not go so far as to strike Singhvi’s judgment down. Yet the order is unambiguous about what it hopes to see done.

“The invasion of a fundamental right is not rendered tolerable when a few, as opposed to a large number of persons, are subjected to hostile treatment. The reason why such acts of hostile discrimination are constitutionally impermissible is because of the chilling effect which they have on the exercise of the fundamental right in the first place...The chilling effect on the exercise of the right poses a grave danger to the unhindered fulfilment of one’s sexual orientation, as an element of privacy and dignity. The chilling effect is due to the danger of a human being subjected to social opprobrium or disapproval, as reflected in the punishment of crime. Hence the Koushal rationale that prosecution of a few is not an index of violation is flawed and cannot be accepted. Consequently, we disagree with the manner in which Koushal has dealt with the privacy – dignity based claims of LGBT persons on this aspect.

Since the challenge to Section 377 is pending consideration before a larger Bench of this Court, we would leave the constitutional validity to be decided in an appropriate proceeding.”

(Source: Scroll)