New Delhi, December 18: The union cabinet on Monday approved amendments to the Telegraph Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in order to comply with the Supreme Court rulings relating to privacy and Aadhaar. According to the amendments approved, the government also raised the jail term for trying to hack the official website of Aadhaar issuing body, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) – uidai.gov.in or database.
Any attempt to hack into the Aadhaar database will be punishable by 10 years in jail, up from three, under the approved amendments. There had been reports of Aadhaar website being hacked or ID data being compromised. However, the UIDAI had refuted all such reports, saying all data was safe and no breach was ever successful.
Besides, Aadhaar card will no longer be required for opening a bank account or obtaining a mobile SIM card. The Supreme Court had struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act that made seeding of the biometric ID with SIMs and bank accounts mandatory, saying it had no legal backing.
The cabinet approved amendments in the Telegraph Act to provide legal backing for the issuance of mobile SIMs through Aadhaar. Similarly, the amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) will give individuals option to link their bank accounts to Aadhaar in the KYC option.
The apex court in a landmark judgment had held constitutional validity of Aadhaar for the distribution of state-sponsored welfare subsidies but ruled that it cannot be made mandatory for opening bank accounts or providing mobile-phone connections.
