Thread by @prasanna_s

#Aadhaar hearing.

A-G is going to read the responses to 20 questions asked by Petitioners.

First response is question on auth failures.

Says state level data not available because auth transactions don't track locations!

Contd...

Then says biometric failure rates are 6% for fingerprints and 8.54% for iris at national level.

Full responses will be uploaded during the break. I will not tweet highlights.

Second response on biometric exception handling for people who do not have biometric etc. Says QR code on the aadhaar letter is one such exception handling mechanism.

Third response says there have been no field level studies for audit of exception registers etc. But says there is a circular dates 19.12.2017 advising all entities to never deny anyone service .

Fourth response relates to parental consent for children. Says parents have to sign the enrolment forms for children.

Sikri J and Khanwilkar J want to know if there are surprise checks etc. DYC J says may be it is not for Dr. Pandey but for the government to satisfy the Bench on the implementation as it is experienced in the field.

For fifth question, the response is that Aadhaar opt-out is not possible.

..even for children who are enrolled after they attain age of consent...there is no opt- out.

Next question is about biometric deduplication rejects. Says 6.7 crores as of 21.03.2018. But says all of them are duplicates.

CEO says not one genuine person has complained that he has been denied an aadhaar number despite attempts to enrolment! (Me thinks: Dei dei dei).

Next question is whether there has been a field study or verification of enrolment rejections. Short answer: No.

Next question on "any other response" in Section 8 (4) short answer: EKYC.

Next questions on UIDAI taking responsibility of details including demographic data entered in enrolment and verification of documents.

Short answer: Registrar Responsibility. UIDAI not responsible.

Next question on Biometric match being probabilistic. Answer: Because it is 1:1, it is NOT probabilistic. (Me thinks : Dei Dei Dei.. Buffallo as an aircraft pilot story being told!)

Skip a few questions. The next one is whether ASAs or AUAs may maintain logs relating to purpose of authentication and location. CEO says they may store according to their convenience and their regulations. UIDAI has no purview.

(I skipped tweeting. Quite uninteresting. Responses will be uploaded.)

A-G rounds up saying Aadhaar implementation may require some improvement if any here and there....but Aadhaar itself cannot be struck down on that ground. It is now here to stay for all times to come.

A-G now reading from 2013 Registrar Handbook which has a section of offline v online authentication and superiority of Aadhaar over something like smart cards.

Also argues that a well considered policy decision has been taken at the highest level.Not for Courts to then interfere

A-G then wants to come to his justification for privacy violation under the Puttaswamy standards. Says Aadhaar passes both the Chandrachud and SK Kaul tests.

Says law exists. Legitimate interests. Thirdly says law also passes the test of proportionality.

Says there is reasonable nexus between the means adopted and the object sought to be achieved.

Says that as long as the law cannot be adjudged to be invalid merely on the ground that its implementation is unlawful.

A-G: As minimum an invasion as possible, of privacy under the Aadhaar project.

A-G: For the objectives of the Act, the mechanism of the Act is the least invasive alternative.

An enormous exercise involving a huge outlay of funds cannot be struck down all as waste for a few petitioners complaining.

A-G now reading from Puttaswamy, 9-judhe bench judgment, Part R and S of DYC J judgment.

Bench rises for lunch. Please follow @SFLCin and @gautambhatia88 for the second half arguments.