Allahabad HC seeks Centre, UP response on Aadhaar-based licence system

The Allahabad High Court has sought responses from the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL challenging Aadhaar-based issuance of learning and driving licences after allegations that licences were issued using Aadhaar details of a deceased person and with an obscene photograph

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has sought responses from the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL challenging the Aadhaar-based online system for issuing learning and driving licences after it was alleged that a learning licence was issued in the name of a deceased person.

A Lucknow bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi passed the order on a PIL filed by Santosh Mishra, who challenged Rule 11 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, and notifications issued under it relating to Aadhaar authentication. The court directed that notice be issued to the Attorney General of India in view of the challenge to Rule 11 and listed the matter for hearing after six weeks.

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The petitioner contended that under the existing online system, an applicant seeking a learning licence provides his Aadhaar number, following which details available in the Aadhaar database are accessed by the licensing authority and used to process the application.

He argued that Aadhaar is not a valid proof of age and, therefore, issuing a learning licence solely on the basis of Aadhaar details could be contrary to the Motor Vehicles Act. The system, he said, could potentially result in licences being issued to persons below the prescribed age of 16 or 18 years. The petitioner placed documents before the court which, according to him, showed that a learning licence had been issued in the name of a deceased person using his Aadhaar number.

He also cited another instance in which an obscene photograph was allegedly uploaded online along with Aadhaar details, yet a learning licence was issued. Mishra termed such incidents a “serious security concern” and submitted that they could even have implications for national security.

The Centre and the state government opposed the allegations, with their counsel submitting that merely providing an Aadhaar number does not automatically lead to issuance of a learning licence and that other prescribed formalities have to be completed.

The bench then asked the government counsel how a learning licence could have been issued in the name of a deceased person if the allegation was factually correct. The government counsel, however, could not provide a clear answer to the court on the issue. The matter was heard last week and the court’s order was made available on Monday.