The relationship by marriage does not eclipse the right to privacy under the Aadhaar Act, and the personal data of information of one of the spouses stored in Aadhaar cannot be disclosed at the instance of other spouse without hearing the spouse whose information is sought by the other spouse, said the High Court of Karnataka.
“The marriage by itself does not do away with the procedural right of hearing conferred under Section 33 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits & Services) Act, 2016. The relationship by marriage, which is a union of two partners, does not eclipse the right to privacy, which is the right of an individual and the autonomy of such individual’s right stands recognised and protected by the procedure of hearing contemplated under Section 33 of the Act,” the court observed.
A Division Bench comprising Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav and Justice Vijaykumar A. Patil passed the order on an appeal filed by the Deputy Director General (DDG) and Central Public Information Officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
