Now, Editors Guild and UIDAI in war of words over FIR against Tribune reporter

New Delhi: Even as the UIDAI clarified that a police case has been filed in the alleged Aadhaar security breach case because there had been a criminal offence, the Editors’ guild has condemned the Authority’s decision to book The Tribune reporter who broke the story about how people could illegally access demographic data of individuals. The reporter has been booked for cheating, impersonation, forgery and under sections of the Information Technology Act and the Aadhaar Act.

The UIDAI had filed the complaint, which also names people who sold unauthorised access details to the journalist, within days of the news report. The Authority, under attack from the media, has also pointed out that an erroneous impression was being created in media that it “is targeting the media or whistle blowers or ‘’shooting the messenger’’. ‘‘This is not at all true,” it has asserted.

The authority said it had detailed the entire chain of events to the police and the reporter’s name was mentioned in this context. The statement said this did not imply that everyone named in the report were “necessarily guilty” and cited a Supreme Court verdict to assert that a person’s guilt or innocence could only be decided after a police probe and trial.

However, the Editor’s Guild of India has condemned the case against journalist Rachna Khaira and put out a statement: “It (the FIR) is clearly  meant to browbeat a journalist whose investigation on the matter was of great public interest. It is unfair, unjustified and a direct attack on the freedom of the press.” The guild has also sought the government’s intervention for the withdrawal of the FIR. ‘‘Instead of penalising the reporter, UIDAI should have ordered a thorough internal investigation into the alleged breach and made its findings public,” the body pointed out.

The newspaper, The Tribune, had reported that it had received an offer to buy access into the Aadhaar database for Rs. 500, and that its journalist was given login details to access the data. The journalist tried to key in an individual’s Aadhaar number and was able to see the demographic details of the person concerned, the newspaper had claimed.

The report had renewed privacy concerns. But the authority is equally adamant that the biometric database was “fully safe and secure with highest encryption”. According to UIDAI, sensitive Aadhaar information is protected by strong cryptography that would take “millions of computers and billions of years to decrypt”. The authority also respects free speech, including the Freedom of Press and Media.