Two activists had filed a potential class action suit against UIDAI requesting the Bangalore City Civil Judge to declare the Aadhaar scheme as illegal

Bengaluru-based Col (Retd.) Mathew Thomas of Citizens' Action Forum and VK Somasekhar, founder-trustee of Grahak Shakti have filed a potential class action suit against the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). In the petition, both the activists requested the Bangalore City Civil Judge to declare Aadhaar scheme as illegal, stop enrolment in the scheme and grant injuction against entering into any contracts binding the government and expending taxpayers money.

According to the petition, the UIDAI chairman has entered into number of agreements, contracts, and memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with both Indian and international private companies, as an authority of the Government of India, without the sanction of law.

In addition, the National Identification Authority of India Bill (NAI Bill), the proposed law on Aadhaar, is worded in such a way that regularises all the activities of the chairman from the day it was constituted as an authority by the Union government and deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission. "The Bill seeks to provide ex-post-facto blanket approval of all such acts of the first defendant (UIDAI chairman). It is respectfully submitted that first defendant on the basis of such a draft bill is continuing with the implementation of the Aadhaar scheme in entire India. It is respectfully submitted that the same is illegal," the petition said.

It said, the UIDAI chairman has also entered into contracts with 209 companies, organizations, societies as Enrolling Agencies by saying that Aadhaar is a high technology project. However, it has selected number of organizations, companies, societies, whose capacity and qualifications are doubtful, it said.
According to the petition, an organisation that is an education society in rural Andhra Pradesh secures rights of enrolling agency for entire state of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The basis on which, the agency was granted the license for enrolling people of these states is still unknown and raises questions on the criteria employed by the first defendant for empanelling private companies as enrolling agencies. Similar is the case of a Tea Estate Company being licensed as an enrolling agency that has been granted enrolling job in entire state of Assam, it said.

Some of the enrolling agencies have already sub contracted the work, allegedly against the rules of the first defendant, which prohibit sub-contracting of the work, the petition said. "One of the enrolling agencies, Alankit Financial Services sub-contracted enrolling at Bangalore to another private company, ID Global Technology Solutions. The latter is alleged to have indulged in franchising enrolling business to many other private companies. ID Global Technology Solutions is alleged to have been taking deposits of Rs2.5 Lakh from the franchisees. When the first defendant was confronted by the said fraud, it has stated that it was not aware of this illegal activity," said Col (Retd.) Thomas and Mr Somasekhar.
 
They alleged that the entire process of enrolling was done by a sub-contracting agency in Mysore district. There were instances where the agency and its employees in collusion with other persons have been issuing fake Aadhaar numbers to those who can pay at Mysore. The same was reported in a Kannada television channel known as TV9.

According to the petition, there is urgency in filing the suit as the defendants (UIDAI, Union Govt, and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission) intend to complete major part of the Aadhaar enrolment before the matter is decided by the Standing Committee on Finance of the Parliament and presented before the Lok Sabha so as to compel the Parliament to support the project with retrospective effect as money has already been spent.
 
"Every day the UID project continues, several crore of rupees of taxpayers' money would be lost. Apart from this, the continued gathering of people's data would be an unacceptable security risk both to the people and the nation its self. It is respectfully submitted that while millions are dying of hunger, starvation and deprivation be it children, women, men or aged persons, spending such huge amounts of money to benefit and make it possible for many to pocket the money at the expense of the citizen in the name of Aadhaar even without any legislative sanction is illegal. Plaintiffs are affected by the conduct of the defendants and so are many millions of Indians," said Col (Retd.) Thomas and Mr Somasekhar in the petition.