On Sunday, The Tribune’s editor-in-chief Harish Khare issued a statement, expressing his gratitude for the solidarity of the journalistic community after a reporter of the newspaper was slapped with an FIR for the story on how Aadhaar data of over 1 billion people might be getting compromised.
A deputy director of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) filed a complaint with the Delhi police over an investigative report in the daily that revealed a racket which “sells” access to Aadhaar database of one billion Indians for as low as Rs 500.
The authority released a statement saying that it takes every criminal violation seriously and “unauthorised access” by The Tribune and its journalist invited the criminal proceedings that are initiated against them. It also said it respects freedom of speech and the media, and that its FIR shouldn’t be viewed as “shooting the messenger”.
The Editors Guild of India condemned the FIR against The Tribune reporter, calling it an "unfair, unjustified and direct attack on the freedom of the press". In a press release issued on Sunday, 7 January, the body said that UIDAI’s FIR is “clearly meant to browbeat the journalist” who carried out the investigation.
Instead of penalising the reporter, UIDAI should have ordered a thorough internal investigation into the alleged breach [of Aadhaar data] and made its findings public. The Guild demands that the concerned Union ministry intervene and have the cases against the reporter withdrawn apart from conducting an impartial investigation into the matter.Editors Guild of India
Meanwhile, prominent journalists, activists and politicians came out in support of The Tribune and its reporter Rachna Khaira after the FIR was registered.
Journalists, including Shekhar Gupta and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, cited the filing of an FIR as an example of overreach by the authorities.
Others asserted that instead of filing an FIR, the journalist should have actually been thanked for exposing the loopholes in the system. Some even called the action as reflective of a trend wherein journalists are harassed and intimidated for asking questions, and where "legal terrorism" is on the rise.
According to an Indian Express report, the FIR against the The Tribune and its reporter has been filed under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Section 66 of the IT Act and Section 36/37 of the Aadhaar Act have also been invoked.
The FIR also includes the names of Anil Kumar, Sunil Kumar and Raj – people who Khaira said she contacted for her report, The Indian Express further reported.
‘Reporter Deserves an Award, Not FIR’
‘New Legal Terrorism of the State’
‘FIR — Freedom to Intimidate Reporters’
The Tribune investigation by journalist Rachna Khaira says that after paying Rs 500 via Paytm to an ‘agent’, the group running the racket created a gateway for her within 10 minutes. Rachna then got a login ID and password for the Aadhaar portal, which is supposed to be accessed by admins.
After entering the portal, the correspondent was able to access all details of any individual just by entering their Aadhaar number. The details that could be accessed included name, address, postal code (PIN), photo, phone number and email of the Aadhaar card holder.
The UIDAI had initially denied The Tribune report after it was published.
“There has not been any data breach and that the data is fully safe and secure,” the board had said while calling The Tribune story a "case of misreporting”.
The Aadhaar data, including biometric information, is fully safe and secure. UIDAI maintains complete log and traceability of the facility and any misuse can be traced and appropriate action taken. Legal action including lodging of FIR against the persons involved in the present case being done.UIDAI in a statement earlier
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