Verify Aadhaar before accepting it as proof of identity: UIDAI tells states
Doing so, the Unique Identification Authority of India says, will deter anti-social and unscrupulous elements from possibly misusing Aadhaar data.
FollowBefore accepting an Aadhaar either in physical or electronic form for establishing the identity of an individual, entities should verify the Aadhaar, the Unique Identification Authority of India said on Thursday.
Doing so, the UIDAI says, will deter anti-social and unscrupulous elements from possibly misusing Aadhaar data.
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While reiterating its stand that any 12-digit number is not an Aadhaar, the UIDAI said that offline verification can detect tampering of Aadhaar documents which is a punishable offence and liable for penalties.
The statement comes at a time when investigations into the Mangaluru blast case have revealed that prime accused Mohammed Shariq had an Aadhaar card that originally belonged to Hubballi resident Premraj Hutagi who works at Tumakuru railway station as a track maintainer. Premraj had reportedly lost the card a year ago, following which he got a duplicate Aadhaar card issued.
Investigators said that Shariq was using Premraj's Aadhaar by replacing the latter's image with his own. He used the fake Aadhaar card to rent a house and to acquire a few other services.
The UIDAI has reached out to the state governments and impressed upon them the need to verify the Aadhaar data before usage. States have been told to direct their officials that authentication of a person is performed whenever Aadhaar is submitted as proof of identity.
The Aadhaar authority has also shared the process of carrying out the verification when an individual voluntarily offers the Aadhaar number to establish his or her identity.
Any Aadhaar can be verified using the QR code available on all forms of Aadhaar (Aadhaar letter, e-Aadhaar, Aadhaar PVC card, and m-Aadhaar) using mAadhaar App, or Aadhaar QR code Scanner. The QR code scanner is freely available for both Android and iOS-based mobile phones, as well as window-based applications.
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