The Supreme Court on September 26, 2018 delivered its much awaited judgment in the Aadhaar case, wherein the majority view, comprised of – Dipak Misra CJI., AK Sikri J., AM Khanwilkar, J. and Ashok Bhushan J. (though Bhushan J. dissented with the majority on certain points) upheld the constitutionality of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 barring a few provisions. DY Chandrachud J. delivered a dissenting opinion debasing the entire Aadhaar scheme along with the Act. Aadhaar’ which means, in English, ‘foundation’ or ‘base’, has become the most talked about expression in recent years, not only in India but in many other countries and international bodies.[i] This submission discusses about how changes or updations can be made to the Aadhaar card, which is now declared to be constitutionally valid.
What is Aadhaar?
Aadhaar is a verifiable 12-digit identification number issued by UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to the resident of India for free of cost. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident of India, may voluntarily enroll to obtain Aadhaar number. Person willing to enroll has to provide minimal demographic and biometric information during the enrolment process. Aadhaar identity platform with its inherent features of Uniqueness, Authentication, Financial Address and e-KYC, enables the Government of India to directly reach residents of the country in delivery of various subsidies, benefits and services by using the resident’s Aadhaar number only.
Demographic and Biometric Information required for Aadhaar:
|
Demographic information |
Name, Date of Birth (verified) or Age (declared), Gender, Address, Mobile Number (optional) and Email ID (optional), in case of Introducer-based enrolment- Introducer name and Introducer’s Aadhaar number, in case of Head of Family based enrolment- Name of Head of Family, Relationship and Head of Family’s Aadhaar number; in case of enrolment of child- Enrolment ID or Aadhaar number of any one parent, Proof of Relationship (PoR) document |
|
Biometric information |
Ten Fingerprints, Two Iris Scans, and Facial Photograph |
Need to Update the Demographic and Biometric Information:
The demographic and biometric information might be subject to changes in due course of time due to several reasons.
Demographic Information may change due to –
1. Personal Reasons – Marriage, Migration, Convenience etc.
2. Errors during enrolment – Numerical and clerical errors, Error in linguistic translations.
Biometric information may change due to –
1. Accident, personal injury, surgery etc.
2. Attainment of age – It is pertinent to note that Aadhaar can be obtained even for a new born baby in India. Aadhaar for a child is also known as “Baal Aadhaar” and is blue in color. Biometric will not be collected from kids up to the age of five. The kid’s Aadhaar will be linked to her/his parent’s Aadhaar. At the age of 5, the biometrics will be obtained and will be attached to the Aadhaar of the child which in turn has to be linked to the parent’s Aadhaar. After the child attains fifteen years of age, again biometric will be obtained and will be attached to the Aadhaar of the child.
3. UIDAI’s recommendation – The UIDAI highly recommends that every individual should change their biometric once in every ten years.
For the aforesaid reasons, it is important to know the procedure to update this information in the UIDAI database.
Procedure to update Aadhaar information:
Self-service online mode:
The Self-Service online mode offers address update to the residents where the resident can directly place the update request on the portal. The Aadhaar number and registered mobile number of the resident are required to login to the portal. The resident is authenticated using OTP on his/her registered mobile number. To complete the update process, resident needs to upload the supporting POA documents, which will be verified against requested data at a later stage at UIDAI’s Update back-office by a Verifier.
Note: The resident needs to have mobile number registered with Aadhaar for using this service.
Physical Mode by Visiting Permanent Enrolment Centre:
These are modes where residents place the demographic/biometric update request with the help of an operator at a Permanent Enrolment Centre. In such a case, the documentary evidence is collected by the operator at the time of accepting the request. The document verification by the verifier also happens at the time of placing the Update request. UIDAI currently has envisaged three modes for Assisted Updates:
|
Mode |
Fields That can be updated |
Identity Authenticity |
Document Verification |
Form Filling and Acknowledgment |
|
Update Client Standard (UCS) |
Biometric and Demographic (including Language) |
Biometric check at the back end. |
Done for those fields which require documentary evidence. Done by verifier appointed by UIDAI/ Registrars present at Enrolment / Update Centre. The procedure followed should be in line with DDSVP Committee Recommendations followed during enrolment process. |
Done by the operator on update client as requested by the resident. Handles spelling, language issues, transliteration, etc. Operator will provide biometric sign off against every update request. Resident gets an acknowledgement receipt with Update Request Number (URN) which can be tracked. |
|
Update Client Lite (UCL) |
Demographic fields, Local Language and Photo. |
Biometric Authentication of resident |
Done for those fields which require documentary evidence. Done by verifier appointed by UIDAI/ Registrars present at Enrolment / Update Centre. The procedure followed should be in line with DDSVP Committee Recommendations followed during enrolment process. |
Done by the operator on update client as requested by the resident. Handles spelling, language issues, transliteration, etc. Operator will provide biometric sign off against every update request. Resident gets an acknowledgement receipt with Update Request Number (URN) which can be tracked. |
|
Update through AUA Point of Presence (Done by Registrars) |
Demographic Fields only. |
Biometric Authentication of resident on the AUA device; UIDAI may decide to use other/additional authentication factors, if required. |
UIDAI will accept update based on Registrar’s verification process and Resident Authentication. For audit purposes, electronic/scanned document copies may be collected online. These document copies may be captured and received with each resident request, or may be made available, by the Registrar, in batches against the Update Request Numbers, Date and time. |
Done by Registrar’s Operator( employee/ outsourced) on Device with Biometric Authentication Feature, such as a Micro-ATM Resident gets an acknowledgement receipt with Update Request Number (URN) which can be tracked. The acknowledgement may be print receipt and/or on SMS/email based on type of request. For example, for mobile number update, the acknowledgement can be a SMS on the given mobile number. The API will have the functionality to generate electronic as well Print receipts. The Registrar may provide print receipts at the end of taking update request, if they so decide. |
Mobile Number Updation:
Registered mobile number is mandatory for Aadhaar. You can update new number or get your existing number verified by visiting the nearest PEC (Permanent Enrolment Centre).
Conclusion:
It is suggested to keep the Aadhaar card up-to-date since various services like Government & Non-Government Services, Subsidy Benefits, Pensions, Scholarships, Social Benefits, Banking services, Insurance services, Taxation services, Education, Employment, Healthcare etc., mandate you to have an Aadhaar card. Since Aadhaar serves as the identification document, it is imperative to have it updated.
Edited by Pragash Boopal
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
Reference
[i] Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Others v. Union of India and Others, Writ petition (Civil) No. 494 of 2012.
