Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Action Against Google Pay's Alleged Unauthorized Use & Storage Of Users' Aadhar Details

The Delhi High Court today issued notices on a Public Interest Litigation, seeking action against Google Pay allegedly for having unauthorized access and storage of the Aadhar and banking information of the citizens.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh was hearing the plea filed by one Abhijit Mishra, which alleges that Google Pay, a united payment interface for all banks, violates Article 21 of the Constitution of India, Aadhar Act 2016, Payments and Settlement Systems Act 2007, and Banking Regulations Act 1949.

Filed through Advocate Payal Bahl, the petitioner alleges that Google Pay is not registered or licensed under the aegis of the Payments and Settlement Systems Act 2007 to conduct the business of payments and transactions. It further states that as per the information received from the Reserve Bank of India, Google Pay is also not registered/licensed as a Bank / Co-Operative Bank / Financial Institution / Non-Banking Finance Company under the aegis of the Banking Regulations Act 1949 to conduct the business of payments and processing the transactions.

The petition further alleges that Google Pay is conducting the business of payment transfers and transaction processing in violation of Banking laws (Banking Regulations Act 1949) and Payments Laws (Payments and Settlements Systems Act 2007).

Referring to the Terms and Conditions of Google Pay, the petitioner brings to the notice of the Court that it explicitly states that the company will be storing the payment instruction details of the Parties, including Bank Accounts and Aadhar details.

However, the UIDAI has not received any application or issued permission to Google Pay, allowing it to access, use and store the citizen's Aadhar details or the database. Neither has UIDAI received information from the RBI that it has given permission to Google Pay for access, use, and store the citizen's Aadhar details or the database.

In reference to notifications issued by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, and Reserve Bank of India, it is submitted that seeding of the banking information is mandatory and statutory, making the banking details of citizens an essential information element of Aadhar details.

The matter is listed on November 8, 2021.

Also Read: Google Pay Is A Third Party App Which Operates Within the Regime Set Up By National Payments Corporation of India: Google Informs Delhi HC

Case Title: Abhijit Mishra v. UIDAI & Ors.