Aadhaar Maze: Grievances Ignored, RTI Blocked and Errors Still Unfixed

Vinita Deshmukh 26 June 2025

Public Interest

Amidst rising concerns over data accuracy in innumerable Aadhaar cards, that has caught even school and college children in a Catch-22 crisis if their cards used for identification do not match during admission in their educational institutes, the Right to Information (RTI) route taken by a family member of an Aadhaar card-holder has been denied information by the central information commission, on the basis that it is a third-party disclosure.

The commission dismissed the second appeal during the hearing on 19 June 2025, which sought details about an Aadhaar card issued to a female family member, citing discrepancies in the identity information.

Ram Autar, an RTI applicant from Lucknow, invoked RTI in December 2023, requesting information about the Aadhaar of one of his family members from the central public information officer (CPIO) of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Lucknow.

He sought the following details: the date of Aadhaar card generation; the documents used for verification and explanations related to discrepancies in the identity fields.

However, the CPIO in his reply on 11 January 2024, denied the information citing Section 28(v) and 29(2) of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, along with Section 8(1)(j) read with Section 11 of the RTI Act, 2005, which protects third-party personal information.

Probably the RTI applicant would have got information on his own Aadhaar but how does one expect school and college-going children to invoke RTI is the question, in case they would like to know the reasons for discrepancies in their cards.

Being dissatisfied with the CPIO’s response, RTI applicant Autar filed a first appeal, which was also rejected by the first appellate authority (FAA), reaffirming the stand taken by the CPIO.

During the second appeal hearing conducted through video conferencing, Mr Autar reiterated that his requested information was not provided, although he was seeking information about his own family member. CPIO and deputy director of UIDAI, Amit Singh, maintained that the data in question pertained to personal information of a third party and thus could not be disclosed under existing laws.

Central information commissioner (CIC) Heeralal Samariya referred to the Supreme Court’s order in UIDAI vs Subhash Chandra Agrawal (Civil Appeal No. 10045/2010) which upheld UIDAI’s position. He observed that the Court had previously ruled that personal records—including name, address, health, finances, and other confidential data—fall within the domain of private information and are exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

CIC Samariya summarised that “the applicant was duly provided with an appropriate response in accordance with applicable legal provisions. No further intervention is deemed necessary.”

This case adds to the growing list of concerns surrounding the integrity of Aadhaar data and the helplessness of most citizens in setting the records right. Multiple reports over the past decade have flagged inconsistencies in Aadhaar records—including spelling errors in names, incorrect birth dates, mismatched biometric data and unauthorised updates.

Also, the aspect of providing fake cards is a cause of great concern. As per news reports, a UIDAI enrolment operator in Uttar Pradesh was arrested for creating 600 fake Aadhaar cards in 2018. Also, a 2022 report by the Internet Freedom Foundation cited several cases where citizens were denied welfare benefits due to inaccuracies in their Aadhaar records.

While CIC’s decision may be legally sound, it raises broader concerns over the accessibility and accountability of identity systems. Experts emphasise the need for a more transparent and citizen-friendly correction and inquiry process within UIDAI, especially as Aadhaar becomes increasingly essential for accessing government services and subsidies.

Some of the tweets on Tuesday raised concerns about the issue of Aadhaar card discrepancies:

Same with a 13 years old girl in Vasai. School organised the aadhar card & misspelt while copying from her birth certificate. After that she had to make gazette for name change when her birth certificate carries correct spelling. After 3 yrs, name is not yet corrected by @UIDAI
— Vasai Virar Citizens Action Forum (@VasaiVirarForum) June 23, 2025

Dear @suchetadalal, kindly share the complete details of the case (student's name, Aadhaar/EID if available, and contact info) to our Regional Office Mumbai grievance ID at [email protected] to help us resolve the matter. please send the details in through DM.
— Aadhaar Office Western Region (@UIDAIMumbai) June 24, 2025

(Vinita Deshmukh is consulting editor of Moneylife. She is also the convener of the Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting, which she won twice in 1998 and 2005 and the Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding media person for her investigation series on Dow Chemicals. She co-authored the book "To The Last Bullet - The Inspiring Story of A Braveheart - Ashok Kamte" with Vinita Kamte and is the author of "The Mighty Fall".)

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