IS RIGHT TO PRIVACY IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
UGC, JNU & other agencies violating Supreme Court’s orders UID/Aadhaar Number
Supreme Court all set to pronounce verdict this week on whether Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right
Will the Court save present & future Indians from cyber-biometric Panopticon?
Disregarding previous court orders and unmindful of 9th June 2017 verdict of Justice A K Sikri headed Bench of Supreme Court on 12 digit biometric Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar, Dr Sajjan Singh, Assistant Registrar (Evaluation), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has failed to modify a circular on subject of “inscription of when Unique ID/Aadhaar Number and photograph in Marksheets and Degree Certificates” on 20 April. (JNU circular attached) The circular referred to a letter from University Grants Commission (UGC) in this regard. It is a case of UGC and JNU refusing to comply with Court’s verdict. The case of Shehla Rashid, ex-Vice President of JNU Student Union being denied submission of her M Phil dissertation in the absence of UID/Aadhaar number demonstrates how UGC, JNU and other ‘welfare agencies’ are showing total disregard towards Court’s verdict.
After its circular making UID/Aadhaar number mandatory was challenged, UGC, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development had “clarified that any student who have applied or wishing to apply for scholarship/fellowship shall not be denied benefit thereof due to non availability of Aadhaar No./Card.” The revised Public Notice was issued on September 14, 2016. The earlier circular of UGC was in manifest violation of Court’s order.
The current circular dated 20 April 2017 from JNU administration draws on a UGC letter dated 21st March 2016. A communication from UGC dated 26 July, 2016 states, “The bank account number seeded with Aadhaar should be mentioned on the portal.” Notably, both these circulars on which the JNU circular is based are of the period in which even the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 was not in force. It came into force after its notification in the Gazette of India on 12 September, 2016. Therefore, the circular is illegal and is in violation of the Court’s order.
Nowhere does the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 provide for and authorise “seeding”’ of UID/Aadhaar numbers in databases. The Act provides for only two uses:
- Authentication, which means that biometric or demographic data can be sent to the UID’s CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository) to return a `yes/no’ reply to the question whether you are who you say you are.
- eKYC, which does something they had said they would never do, viz., give the data on their data base (except core biometric data – but they have no means of stopping any agency from collecting and keeping biometrics when it is given for authentication) to an Authorised Service Agency.
Section 8(2) (b) of the Act is categorical that an agency requesting authentication “ensure(s) that the identity information of an individual is only used for submission” to the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) of 12-digit biometric Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar Numbers “for authentication”. It does not authorise anyone to hold on to the number. Therefore, seeding the UID/Aadhaar number by UGC and JNU is itself beyond the law.
It is an established constitutional norm that the last order of the Supreme Court is the law of the land. UGC and JNU have failed to take note of the verdict of the Supreme Court dated 9th June 2017. This verdict states that “it is clear that there is no provision in Aadhaar Act which makes enrolment compulsory. May be for the purpose of obtaining benefits, proof of Aadhaar card is necessary as per Section 7 of the Act. Proviso to Section 7 stipulates that if an Aadhaar number is not assigned to enable an individual, he shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidy, benefit or service” and categorically states “Thus, enrolment under Aadhaar is voluntary” at paragraph 90-91 (page no. 105-106) of the 157 page long verdict.
In the light of this verdict there is a logical and legal compulsion for all governmental and non-governmental institutions to ensure that all further activities relating to collection/feeding/seeding of Aadhaar Number being undertaken currently should be suspended with immediate effect. In other words, henceforth no more mandatory collection of Aadhaar Numbers for feeding/seeding of collected Aadhaar data is permissible. In order to comply with Court’s order in letter and spirit all the central, state, public and private agencies who are implementing UID/Aadhaar related schemes and systems are under a legal obligation to issue orders in this regard.
Following this verdict no person can be deprived of any service for want of UID/Aadhaar number in case he/she is otherwise eligible/entitled. All the authorities are directed to modify their forms/circulars/likes so as to not compulsorily require the Aadhaar number in order to meet the requirement of the verdict. Given the fact that the child’s welfare was the supreme consideration, relevant communications must be modified with utmost priority.
It must be noted that whenever circulars and letters of central and state government agencies have been challenged and contested they have consistently withdrawn their circulars and letters. Following Supreme Court’s verdict, on August 4, 2017, Justice A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar bench of Kerala High Court issued an order allowing transaction of business by the petitioner without UID/Aadhaar. In a related development, Union Ministry of Defence issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification No.S.O-747(E) dated March 3, 2017, published in the Gazette of India dated March 6, 2017, concerning military pensions, in which it stated that, “An individual eligible to receive the pension benefits is hereby required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication”. Major General (Retd) S.G.Vombatkere challenged it, Justice A.S. Bopanna Bench of Karnataka High Court passed an order on April 27, 2017, directing the Government “not to insist upon Aadhaar card or proof of application for issue of Aadhaar card for the purpose of disbursing military pension to the Petitioner if he is otherwise entitled to receive such pension”.
Besides these High Courts even High Courts of Jammu & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh have passed orders in pursuance of Supreme Court’s orders, it might be useful if all the concerned High Courts take suo motto notice of non-compliance of the verdict by UGC, JNU and other central and state and non-state agencies to set matters right in order to protect the fundamental rights of students and citizens. Even children in schools are being coerced to get their UID/Aadhaar seeded. In such a situation, as the custodian of children High Courts have an obligation to come to their rescue at the earliest.
The 21st March 2017 circular from Secretary, UGC reiterated the demand saying “Once again, I request you to introduce identification mechanisms like photograph and Unique lD/Aadhaar number in students’ certificates.” It added, “This has been approved by the Commission in its 521st meeting held on 22nd February, 2017.” The decision of the 521st meeting is available at http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/7782001_521-Minutes-without-establishment.pdf. It makes no mention of ID/Aadhaar. Nowhere has it been mentioned that the revised Public Notice issued on September 14, 2016 has been withdrawn. Thus, the validity and legality of the 21stMarch, 2017 is questionable in the light of the 9th June verdict of the Supreme Court.
Both the UGC and JNU circular need to be revised in compliance with Court’s verdict. In countries where rule of law prevail the last order of the Supreme Court is the law of the land. No circular can prevail over Court’s verdict.
A 2-days workshop titled “Understanding Aadhaar and Its New Challenges” organized by Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on 26-27 May, 2016 deliberated on how the JAM Number Trinity– Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile numbers— is a fish bait to trap unsuspecting citizens into the world’s biggest transnational biometric database. This turns them into subjects under surveillance forever by letting companies like Safran, Accenture and Ernst & Young get unrestricted access to personal sensitive data of Indians forever as per their Contract Agreements with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Minister ofor Law, Electronics and Information Technology in the name of a set of welfare programmes.
In the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) of 12-digit biometric Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar Numbers, the Indian residents are seen by somebody from any part of the planet but they do not see the person who is seeing them. He/she is the object of information, but never a subject in communication like in this Panopticon which is an architectural configuration that allows for a single guard’s gaze to view all inmates in a prison, but prevents those inmates from knowing exactly when they are being watched and from where. This design is a general model of defining power relations in the everyday life of humans.
Notably, Biometrics “means the technologies that measure and analyse human body characteristics, such as ‘fingerprints’, ‘eye retinas and irises’, ‘voice patterns’, “facial patterns’, ‘hand measurements’ and ‘DNA’ for authentication purposes” as per Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 under section 87 read with section 43A of Information Technology Act, 2000. The minutes of Approach Paper for legislation on Privacy communicated by the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India defined ‘Personal Sensitive Data’ that includes biometric data and genetic information.
The creation of CIDR is an act of political record keeping. It is an act of using human body as data. The motive of CIDR has some link with what happened in a Court in Norway in the case involving Anders Behring Breivik, who has been found guilty of killing eight people in Oslo and 69 at Utøya on July 22, 2011. Brevik’s case reminds one of the words used in his 1,518 pages-long manifesto ‘2083: A European Declaration of Independence’. This manifesto makes repeated reference to ‘identification,’ to the word ‘identity’ over 100 times, to ‘unique’ over 40 times and to ‘identification’ over 10 times. There are references to ‘state-issued identity cards’, ‘converts’ identity cards’, ‘identification card’, ‘fingerprints’, ‘DNA’ etc. Breivik’s obsession with ‘identification’ mirrors the fixation of the promoters of UID/Aadhaar. His manifesto finds resonance in the exercise for CIDR, an ‘online database’. This UID/Aadhaar for CIDR in every context can act as a “unique personal identifier”. This identifier is to everyday surveillance as the discovery of longitude was to navigation. The fixation with identification based on ‘biological attributes of an individual’ provided under the Aadhaar Act 2016 has unprecedented political implications.
The revelations in National Defense Magazine, a US publication in an article entitled “Defense Department Under Pressure to Share Biometric Data” underline that concerns regarding violation of fundamental right to privacy is linked to deeper strategic implications of biometric surveillance as a political and economic operator.
Linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar Number to all public services is designed to cause civil death. Civil death is the loss of all or almost all civil rights by a person caused by the government of a country which results in the loss of civil rights. The declaration of a person as an outlaw has been a common form of civil death. Now it is apparent that denial of rights in the absence of UID/Aadhaar is an act of coercion wherein people are being compelled to share their personal sensitive biological information else they will face civil death.
Now that the 9-Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is all set to pronounce its verdict this week on whether Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right or not, it is apparent that it likely to apply the doctrine of prohibition of “unconstitutional condition” which means any stipulation imposed upon the grant of a governmental privilege which in effect requires the recipient of the privilege to relinquish some constitutional right. Notably, it is unreasonable in a special sense that Aadhaar takes away or abridges the exercise of a right protected by the Constitution. In Ahmedabad St. Xavier’s College Society v. State of Gujarat, (1974), the Court has drawn on a verdict from US Supreme Court in Frost and Frost Trucking Co. v. Railroad Comm to hold that State does not have the right to impose conditions which require the relinquishment of constitutional rights. If the state succeeds in compelling the surrender of one constitutional right as a condition of its favour, it may, in like manner, compel a surrender of all. It is inconceivable that guarantees embedded in the Constitution be manipulated out of existence.
In the light of this verdict, it is quite evident that the implementation of UID/Aadhaar is an exercise which is forbidden by our Constitution. If this could be done, constitutional guarantees, so carefully safeguarded against direct assault, are open to destruction by the indirect, but no less effective, process of requiring a surrender, which, though in form voluntary, in fact lacks none of the elements of compulsion. State does not have the constitutional power to discontinue benefits due to citizens. State’s power to withhold recognition or affiliation altogether does not carry with it unlimited power to impose conditions which have the effect of restraining the exercise of fundamental rights. Infringement of a fundamental right is nonetheless infringement because it is accomplished through the conditioning of a privilege. If a Legislature attaches to a public benefit or privilege restraining the exercise of a fundamental right, the restraint can draw no constitutional strength whatsoever from its being attached to benefit or privilege. This is applicable to the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
Notably, Re Kerala Education Bill (1958) was the first case in India to lay down the doctrine of the prohibition of “unconstitutional conditions“. The doctrine of unconstitutional conditions prohibits the State from denying citizens a benefit by making access to that benefit conditional upon citizens’ abstaining from exercising any or all of their fundamental rights. This is despite the fact that there is no antecedent right to that benefit in the first place. It emerges that no Central or State Government can coerce citizens to access subsidies by sacrificing their private data by enrolling for UID/Aadhaar given the fact that they have a right to subsidy. No Government has the constitutional power to make right to have rights condition precedent.
Apparently, under some external influence, Central Government’s stance has been insincere from the every outset. The total estimated budget of the biometric UID/Aadhaar number project has not been disclosed till date. In any case unless total estimated budget of the project is revealed all claims of benefits are suspect and untrustworthy.
Public Statement;For Details: Dr Gopal Krishna, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL). He had appeared before the Parliamentary Standing on Finance that examined and trashed the Aadhaar Bill, 2010. He is editor of www.toxicswatch.org, Mb: 9818089660, 8227816731, E-mail: 1715krishna@gmail.com
UK FS BORRIS : INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE TO PAKISTAN
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wished Pakistan on its Independence Day on behalf of the people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, saying the country should be proud of its history and culture formed over the last 70 years.
“UK and Pakistan enjoy a close friendship thanks to the links between our people – particularly the 1.2 million British people who are of Pakistani origin,” a press release quoted Johnson as saying. “Whether on the cricket field, at Pakistani celebrations in the UK or through our strong education cooperation and support, links between the two countries keep getting stronger.”
He added the UK is celebrating these connections in 2017 with a year-long programme of cultural events, exhibitions and visits.
“As we celebrate our shared history and look forward to a future with more links, trade and cooperation between the UK and Pakistan, I wish the people of Pakistan Jashan-e-Azadi Mubarak.”
Further in ordder to continue its cordiality the British High Commission has been hosting a series of activities and events that celebrate the strength and depth of the UK-Pakistan relationship.
There have also been several high-profile visits from the UK, including those from Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel, Minister of State for Housing Alok Sharma and Lord Mayor of London Alderman Dr Andrew Parmley.
To foster positive relations, British High Commission has arranged a photography exhibition tour titled ‘Shared History. Shared Future’ showcasing in pictures 70 years of cooperation between the two countries. Most importantly, the pictures focus on what the UK is doing to help Pakistan for the next 70 years in the field of education, health, culture, defence, politics, infrastructure, trade and sports. The photography exhibition tour has already visited Peshawar, Islamabad, Karachi and Quetta and will travel to over 10 other cities in the UK and Pakistan over the next few months.
The British High Commission has also launched a video of its staff marking Pakistan’s Independence Day. Geo News
RAJKUMMAR RAO WINS BEST ACTOR SPECIAL JURY AWARD
Rajkummar Rao wins Best Actor Special Jury award for Trapped at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne!
Lauded by cine-goers and critics for his high-powered performances, Rajkummar Rao has positioned himself as one of the most reliable and bankable actors in Bollywood.
The versatile actor recently won WESTPAC Special Mention Best Actor Jury award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for the survival drama Trapped released this year. Helmed by award-winning filmmaker, Vikramaditya Motwane, Rajkummar won huge critical acclaim for the thriller and the movie was recently nominated at the Melbourne Film Festival.
At its world premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival, the film received a standing ovation. After a series of phenomenal successes, this nomination is another feather in his cap.
It also learned that Rajkummar’s highly anticipated movie, Newton will be premiered at this coveted film festival.
Rajkummar rao said,
“I am delighted to get this award. Trapped was a very challenging film for me and I guess this recognition is the result of all the hard work put in by Vikram sir, me and the whole team. I wish to continue to be on this journey of exciting scripts and films”.
INDIA ENDS FIBA ASIA CUP 2017 CAMPAIGN WITH LOSS TO SYRIA
- The Indian men’s basketball team lost their final game of the group stages against Syria 78 – 87, ending their campaign at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017.
- The big centres on both sides racked up double-doubles: Ivan Todorovic with 23 points and 14 rebounds for Syria, and Amritpal Singh with 17 points and 13 rebounds for India.
- The Indian men’s team’s next key assignment will be the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup (Asian Qualifiers) later this year, when it takes on Lebanon on 23rd
Bengaluru/Beirut, 14th August 2017: The Indian men’s basketball team has ended its campaign at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017, after a 78-87 loss to Syria in the final game of the group stages.
It was a game of two halves, as India was absolutely brilliant in the first twenty minutes. At half time, India was leading 51 – 35 which grew to 19 early in the second half.
But Syria began to stifle India thereafter. They were hustling the Indian men into taking tough shots, while scoring relentlessly at the other end. Syria tied the game at 71 each with 6 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, before taking the lead for good.
The big centres on both sides starred for their teams with double-doubles: Ivan Todorovic with 23 points and 14 rebounds for Syria, and Amritpal Singh with 17 points and 13 rebounds for India.
Aravind Annadurai top scored for India with 20 points, most of which came in a hugely impressive first half. While the team will be disappointed at not progressing deeper into the tournament, it was excellent exposure for the younger players looking to build chemistry ahead of the all important 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup (Asian Qualifiers). Grouped with Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, India’s qualification campaign will begin against Lebanon on 23rd November 2017.
Syria (Ivan Todorovic 23 pts, 14 rebs; Micheal Madanly 18 pts; Tarek Aljabi 18 pts) bt India (Aravind Annadurai 20 pts; Amritpal Singh 17 pts, 13 rebs; Amjyot Singh Gill 17 pts) 87–78 [17 – 25, 18 – 26, 25 – 17, 27 – 10]
About the FIBA Asia Cup 2017
The FIBA Asia Cup 2017 is being played in Lebanon from 8-20 August 2017. For the first time, the tournament features Oceanian powerhouses Australia and New Zealand, as sixteen teams battle for top honours in Asia.
India is in Group A, along with Jordan, Syria, and three-time Asian champions Iran. The remaining groups comprise the following teams: Iraq, China, Philippines, and Qatar (Group B); Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Korea, and New Zealand (Group C); and Japan, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Australia (Group D).
The top three teams from each group will advance to the second phase, where they will be divided into two groups of six teams each (Groups E and F). The top four teams from each of these groups will advance to the quarterfinals.
China enters the tournament as defending champions, having won the FIBA Asia Championship 2015 on home soil.
Official tournament website: www.fiba.com/asiacup/2017
INDIAN SQUAD FOR THE FIBA ASIA CUP 2017
| Jersey No | Family Name(s)
/Last Name
| First Name (s)
/Given Name
| Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) | Place of Birth (City &State) | Height (cm) | Weight
(Kg)
| Position | |
| 6 | ANNADURAI | Aravind | 5/07/1993 | Tanjore | TN | 200 | 95 | PF/C |
| 7 | BUKANKERE KRISHNE GOWDA | Anil Kumar | 31/07/1989 | Mandya | Karnataka | 186 | 72 | G |
| 8 | Rajvir Singh | 25/10/1995 | Jalandhar | Punjab | 188 | 85 | G/F | |
| 9 | BHRIGUVANSHI | Vishesh | 13/09/1991 | Varanasi | UP | 192 | 98 | G/F |
| 10 | Amritpal Singh | 5/01/1991 | GannaPind | Punjab | 210 | 110 | C | |
| 15 | PETHANI | Rikin Shantilal | 2/12/1990 | SajiavadarAmreli | Gujarat | 203 | 104 | C |
| 22 | GILL | Amjyot Singh | 27/01/1992 | Chandigarh | Punjab/ Haryana | 203 | 105 | F |
| 24 | POIYAMOZHI | Baladhaneshwar | 7/12/1999 | UllikkottaiManargudi | TN | 179 | 69 | PG |
| 46 | SIVAKUMAR | Prasanna Venkatesh | 25/09/1992 | Gobichettipalayam | TN | 186 | 86 | G/F |
| 52 | BHAMARA | Satnam Singh | 10/12/1995 | Chawke | Punjab | 218 | 132 | C |
| 77 | HAFEEZ | Muin Bek | 28/01/1991 | Dharmapuri | TN | 190 | 83 | F |
| 99 | Talwinderjit Singh | 20/10/1986 | Patiala | Punjab | 183 | 80 | PG | |
| 13 Team Manager: | Shafiqahmed Abdulhafiz SHAIKH |
| 14 Coach: | Baskar SAPPANIAMBALAM |
“RABBIT HOLE” LAUNCHED BY ACTRESS HUMA QURESHI, DIRECTOR GURINDER CHADHA
“Rabbit Hole”, a luxurious addition to Hauz Khas launched by actress Huma Qureshi, Director Gurinder Chadha along with singer SukhE !
Hauz Khas, New Delhi – Spread over 12000 sq ft and built remarkably opulent, Rabbit Hole is one of the finest additions to Hauz Khas Village. This luxurious lounge officially opened on Friday 11 August in the presence of gorgeous actress Huma Qureshi Khan , renowned Hollywood director Gurinder Chadha and famous Indian singer-songwriter and music producer Sukhe who celebrated the success of his new song Superstar accompanied with many other celebrities and VIPs.
Huma Qureshi also promoted her film upcoming film ‘Partition 1947’ and expressed her views by saying “I’m glad that Rabbit Hole team invited me today at their grand launch.”
Commenting on the Premium Lounge opening, The Rabbit hole team, ‘Sumit Aggarwal’, ‘Apoorv Ghai’, ‘Mansi Singh’ and ‘Sunil gupta’ said: “We are delighted to be here today, seeing our dream project finally come true. We look forward to showcasing the very best of our hospitality”.
The Rabbit Hole is a premium lounge overlooking the beautiful lake of HKV into which the sun sets gracefully every evening. It will take you to Alice’s wonderland with beautiful olive terrace, opulent cabanas and a club that’s speckled and wide in varieties. It is a must visit place to treat yourself with delectable fusion food, exotic drinks and sheesha in an opulent sitting both inside and outside.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC MONITOR (JULY,2017)
Global growth is anticipated to grow by 3.5% in 2017 and accelerate to 3.6% in 2018 from 3.2% in 2016. Economic activity in both advanced economies and emerging and developing economies is forecast to accelerate in 2017 to 2% and 4.6 % respectively, with emerging and developing economies expected to take over as global drivers in 2018.
For advanced economies, the growth forecast for 2018 is 1.9% and for emerging and developing economies, the growth forecast is 4.8% for 2018. The growth forecast in the United States has been revised down from 2.3 % to 2.1 % in 2017 and from 2.5% to 2.1% in 2018. The growth forecast has also been revised down to 1.7% for the United Kingdom for 2017 due to weaker than expected activity in the first quarter. Growth projections for 2017 have been revised up for many Euro area countries, including France , Germany , Italy , and Spain .
Emerging and developing economies are anticipated to see a constant pickup in activity, with growth rising from 4.3% in 2016 to 4.6% in 2017 and 4.8% in 2018. China’s growth is expected to remain at 6.7% in 2017, the same level as in 2016, and to decline only modestly in 2018 to 6.4 %. Growth in India has been anticipated to pick up further to 7.2% in 2017 and 7.7% in 2018. While activity slowed following the currency exchange initiative, growth for 2016, at 7.1%, was higher than anticipated due to strong government spending and data revisions that showed stronger momentum in the first part of the year.
Specifically, growth in global trade and industrial production remained well above 2015-16. Purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) signal sustained strength in manufacturing and services sector. Inflation in advanced economies remains subdued and generally below targets. It has also been declining in several emerging economies, such as Brazil , India , and Russia .
On the policy front, the United States Federal open market committee (FOMC) kept the policy rate unchanged recently. The Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1 to 1.25%, keeping in view the realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting some further strengthening in labor market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation.
Going forward, the policy choices are crucial in shaping the growth outlook and mitigating risks. The economies should continue to adapt the multilateral system to the changing global economy. Further, active dialogue and cooperation will help in improving and modernizing the rules, while addressing the concerns of the country. Coupled with strong domestic policies, this process will ensure continued mutual benefits in the coming times.
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