Technology is powerful enabler of mass surveillance: SC on Aadhaar

Technology is a "very powerful enabler" of mass surveillance, said the Supreme Court today, countering the fervent plea of UIDAI that Aadhaar was not needed to carry out surveillance of the citizens as the State had ample means to do it.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, hearing petitions challenging Aadhaar and its enabling 2016 law, also red-flagged certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Rules made under it and asked the Centre how could bank accounts be suspended and then frozen if they are not linked to Aadhaar.

The bench also referred to the testimony of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg before the US Congress to press home the point that technology was a powerful enabler of mass surveillance, which could even influence elections in a major democracy like the US.

"Can you deprive a person of his property (money)? Can a rule be made beyond the scope of the law? The consequence here leads to deprivation. One cannot withdraw his own money as the account is not linked... first, the account is suspended and then it may be blocked after six months. Can you do this," asked the bench, which also comprised Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan.

The PMLA's rule 9(4) has been challenged by the petitioners on the ground of proportionality, the top court said, adding "what is the need to make Aadhaar compulsory when there are other officially valid documents available."
The bench questioned UIDAI about the meta data and the lawyer replied with a hypothetical example. He said "suppose the Apollo Hospital seeks authentication of my Aadhaar number, UIDAI would authenticate without knowing as to which Apollo hospital I have visited and for what kind of treatment."