‘No provision for Aadhaar data in crime probe’

It also informed that Aadhaar data has never been shared with any crime investigating agency.

The statement from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) came after National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) director Ish Kumar on Thursday made a strong pitch + for the police to be provided with limited access to Aadhaar data, to aide them in catching first-time offenders and for identification of unidentified bodies.

“... the use of or access to Aadhaar biometric data for criminal investigation is not permissible under Section 29 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016,” UIDAI said in a statement.

The “very limited” exception to this, said UIDAI, is allowed under Section 33 of the Aadhaar Act, which permits use of or access to Aadhaar biometric data in cases involving national security only after pre-authorisation by an oversight committee headed by the cabinet secretary.

“This is also the consistent stand taken by Union of India in the ongoing Aadhaar case in the Supreme Court,” UIDAI said.

It further argued that under Aadhaar Act, the biometrics data collected by UIDAI “can be used only for the purpose of generating Aadhaar and for authentication of identity of the Aadhaar holders and cannot be used for any other purpose”.

Based on this legal stance, UIDAI said, it has never shared any biometric data with any crime investigating agency.