Syed Hurairah
Hyderabad: There are 930 Aadhaar cards in the Hyderabad Region which were cancelled for various reasons, including for allegedly obtaining them through fraudulent means, a Right to Information document has revealed.
RTI response
The information was sought by RTI activist S Q Masood. In his query, he asked the Unique Identification Authority of India, which oversees all Aadhaar activity, information about the 127 cases which were reported in February 2020. These cases involved fraudulently getting the cards and also led to speculation that these cards were in the hands of illegal immigrants.
The RTI response says that 929 Aadhaar cards were cancelled since January 2012.
The response laid to rest the controversy as to who or which entity supplied UIDAI with the information about the 127 cases, some of which were asked to prove their Indian citizenship with relevant documents.
“The UIDAI has said that 78 of the reports of these 127 had been received from the Intelligence Department of the Telangana government. They have also said that it is not possible to reveal full details as the Intelligence Department reports are exempted under sub-section 4 of Section 24 of the Right to Information Act,” S. Q. Masood who has wanted information on the issue and had filed an RTI request said.
Issue shocked lawyers
Social activists and residents were in a state of shock when the issue had come to light in February. A team of lawyers had raised the cudgels against the move and Muzaffar Ullah Khan, a lawyer, had taken up the case of one of the respondents of a UIDAI notice – Mohammed Sattar Khan who is a photographer and auto-rickshaw driver – which directed him to report to UIDAI officials of the Hyderabad Region. Khan was asked to produce documents which will prove him as an Indian citizen.
The lawyer Muzaffar Ullah Khan, as well as an association of lawyers, had raised objections as to how UIDAI authorities could ask citizens to produce such documents.