The Aadhaar Act and Biometric Data in Forensics

• The Aadhaar Act’s provisions on core biometric information protect privacy but need re-evaluation in specific contexts.
• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has strict regulations on data disclosure to protect privacy and prevent misuse of personal data.
• Police do not have access to demographic or biometric information in the Aadhaar database.
• Section 33(1) of the Aadhaar Act allows the disclosure of certain information under court orders, but “core biometric information” (fingerprints and iris scans) cannot be shared.
• The dilemma lies in balancing the right to privacy with the right to life with dignity.
• Unidentified bodies often come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, migrants, or those with strained family relationships.
• The standard investigative procedure for unidentified bodies includes examination, photographing, note-taking, analysis, and checking against prior missing person reports.
• Fingerprints can be retrieved even in severely decomposed bodies.
• Fingerprint databases for police investigations are often limited to those with known criminal histories.
• Accessing the Aadhaar database could help in the identification of bodies and ensure effective investigations.
• The absolute prohibition in the Aadhaar Act against sharing core biometric information is a significant challenge.
• In the United States, law enforcement agencies can access advanced identification tools through the Deceased Persons Identification (DPI) Services.
• The Aadhaar Act’s provisions on core biometric information serve a crucial role in protecting privacy, but re-evaluating these restrictions in specific contexts, such as identifying a deceased person, is a constitutional imperative.
• The law must safeguard this right for all individuals, particularly those from poor, marginalized, and socially disadvantaged backgrounds.