Summary: The Goa Police wanted to look at the Aadhaar details of an Israeli national, Mr. Yaniv Benaim, who was involved in several legal issues, to find out how he got the card without having the right residency papers.
Recently, the High Court of Bombay at Goa dealt with a request from the State of Goa, through the Anjuna Police, against the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and others. They wanted to check the Aadhaar details of Mr. Yaniv Benaim, an Israeli national, who was in trouble with the law in India.
The police started an investigation against Mr. Benaim for having illegal drugs. While looking into this, they found out he was living in India without a valid passport or visa but still had an Aadhaar card.
"An Aadhaar card can only be given to people living in India," said Mr. S.G. Bhobe, the lawyer for the government.
The police needed to see the Aadhaar details to figure out how he got the card and if there were any security mistakes.
Mr. Benaim has been in trouble with the law before:
"The person has been involved in many crimes," the court noted.
Mr. Benaim’s lawyer was against the request, saying it would invade his privacy. They argued that sharing the Aadhaar information would go against his right to privacy under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
"Giving out the information would break my client's basic rights," said Mr. Vibhav Amonkar, Benaim's lawyer.
Judge Valmiki Menezes decided in favor of the police, allowing them to see the basic information used to give Mr. Benaim his Aadhaar card. The court thought that since Mr. Benaim didn't have the right residency papers, looking into how he got the Aadhaar card was important.
"The request is approved... UIDAI must provide the basic information," the judgment stated.
The court allowed the police to access Mr. Benaim's Aadhaar information to investigate how he obtained the card without proper residency documents. This decision was made to ensure the Aadhaar system is not misused, especially in matters involving national security.
