Aadhaar card impact: Govt working on a law to protect personal data

The government was planning a law to protect data and had set up a committee that would come out with suggestions to ensure that personal information was protected, the Supreme Court was told on Tuesday.

Retired Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna-led 10-member panel had been tasked with drafting the law on data protection, additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta said in the court during a hearing on the constitutional status of the right to privacy.

"The committee will identify key data protection issues in India and recommend measures of addressing them," the law officer said.

Privacy is central to the legal challenges facing Aadhaar,



the 12-digit biometric unique identity number, which has raised data breach and privacy concerns. Critics also say it helps government spy on people.

India doesn't have a separate law for protecting personal data, which at present is covered under the information technology act.

The Supreme Court has decided to settle the issue of privacy before taking up Aadhaar pleas.

One of the main worries of the petitioners is the storage and sharing of biometric information with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is tasked with collecting data, including fingerprints and iris scans, and issuing Aadhaar to all Indian residents.