Withdrawal of FIR over report on Aadhaar data breach demanded

A visitor (right) receives cash from a bank employee after withdrawing money from his account with his Aadhaar card in Hyderabad last year. The report in a daily was on the alleged breach of details of more than one billion Aadhaar cards. Pic/AFP

A newspaper employees' union yesterday demanded the withdrawal of an FIR in connection with a news report in a daily on alleged breach of details of more than one billion Aadhaar cards, terming the case as an attack on the free press. The Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency Employees' Organisations, in a statement, condemned the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), saying it should highlight errors in the report, if any, instead of taking penal action.

"The action amounts to an attack on the freedom of the press and also denial of access to the press from reporting any news unpalatable to those in authority," it said. The Delhi Police have registered an FIR on a UIDAI official's complaint over the report in The Tribune. The FIR mentions the names of the journalist, Rachna Khaira, and the people she reached out to purchase the Aadhaar data, but they have not been shown as accused, police officers said on Sunday.

The Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune, Harish Khare, had said in a statement on Sunday that "the authorities have misconceived an honest journalistic enterprise and have proceeded to institute criminal proceedings against the whistle-blower". He said the daily would explore "all legal options" open to it to defend its freedom to undertake serious investigative journalism.

Govt speaks
Amid criticism of action by authorities over the newspaper report, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was committed to the freedom of the Press and the FIR had been filed against "unknown" entities. "Government is fully committed to freedom of Press as well as to maintaining security and sanctity of Aadhaar for India's development. FIR is against unknown," Prasad posted on Twitter.

Tweet talk

Shatrughan Sinha
What kind of 'justice' is this? Is there only politics of vendetta? Even public is being victimised for coming out honestly for society and the nation. A journalist is hauled up for reporting alleged truth about malfunctioning & misuse of Aadhar. Are we living in a Banana Republic (sic)?

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