Misusing Aadhar Card is a Punishable offence in India
Aadhar Card linkage in all the government schemes and activities is making more news these days than the Government of India itself. Off late everyone from the Prime Minister to the Chief Ministers have become little active towards the issuance of Aadhar Card for each citizen of the nation, even the NRIs and OCIs as well. With the increase in using Aadhar details everywhere the chance of identity theft and misuse of Aadhar has increased too. This growing rate of crime against Aadhar details sharing has made the government to take strict action against the offenders.
Punishments against Identity Theft
The Unique Identity Authority of India has stated that they have taken all the responsibilities of the confidential Aadhar data. They have also said that anyone who will violate Aadhar Act 2016, will be punished instantly.
- In 2016, to prevent such criminal acts against identity theft and misuse of Aadhar details, Aadhar Act 2016 has been launched. Under this law the issuance of Aadhar, law and practices against misusing, details and use of Aadhar can be found in detail.
- According to the Aadhar Act 2016, anyone who will misuse the confidential data of Aadhar or try to share the details without the consent of the user will be fined Rs. 1 Lac and / or prison up to 3 years.
- If further the offender is found messing about the data from CIDR or central identities data repository then the person will be jailed up to 10 years and such. Violating Aadhar Act 2016 will be punishable act and there will be strict law and order against the offender.
User Consent in sharing Aadhar Details
- The UIDAI has notified that all the confidential Aadhar details are safe and secured with UIDAI. The responsibility of securing the data for all is completely borne by UIDAI itself. But if any other organisation or authority is using or sharing Aadhar details with third party then the consent from the user is mandatory.
- If the organisation or authority has disclosed any of the details of Aadhar user without notifying or taking the consent from the user, then it will fall under punishable act.
- Before using Aadhar details for any citizen, he/she have to sign a consent paper with the organisation mentioning the reason for using Aadhar details. The organisation will not be allowed to use the details for any other reason other than the mentioned reason in the consent paper.
- The user will always be aware of the use of their Aadhar details by any authority or organisation for any reason. If the user gives nod to the reason then only one can use/share his/her confidential details to third party.
Aadhar Validation Servers in India
The Indian government and UIDAI have jointly planned to introduce a highly secured Aadhar encryption server in India since a long time now. They have already proposed this before IT biggies like Apple and Google. The Indian government has requested these companies to incorporate Aadhar authentication into their software and hardware.
This decision was made for the protection of the data saved with the UIDAI. Having such secured server in India will help the users to track their data, sharing/using details and also they can send their consent through the system as well.
This server will be incorporated and deployed by the digital hubs in India. According to sources, many a firms are facing several technical issues while doing so. As the government stated now the ball is in their court and they will need to take the initiative to provide such Aadhar Encrypted Server in India.
Misuse of Aadhar and Punishment – Quick View
| Aadhar Card | Points to be noted |
| Type | Authentic Identity Proof with biometric details |
| Use | As identity proof of the citizenship in India |
| Misuse | Sharing confidential Aadhar details with third party |
| Effect of misuse | Identity theft, corruption |
| Punishment | Rs. 1 Lac fine + 3 years Jail (up to 10 years for tampering CIDR details |
| Future plans | Aadhar Authentication Servers launch in India for security of Aadhar details. |
Other Article
