Fair Price Shop Dealers Acting With Connivance Of Login Operators To Manipulate Aadhar Data: UP Govt Tells Allahabad High Court [Read Order]

The State Government has informed the Court that about 458 cases have been registered in this regard and the Cyber Crime Department is looking into them.

The averments come in the writ petition filed by one Awadhesh Kumar, a fair price shop dealer, whose licence was cancelled by the District Magistrate, on the ground of interpolation in the data base of the beneficiaries.

In the previous hearing, the High Court had raised a query as to how a fair price shop dealer can change the Aadhaar number in the data base which is accessible only to NIC.

"How It Is Possible For Fair Price Shop Dealer To Change Aadhaar Number In The Database Which Is Accessible Only To NIC , Asks Allahabad HC

As per the Principal Secretary's affidavit, only persons having access to the login ID (provided by NIC) can modify the data in the servers. It is alleged that only the Supply Inspector and Computer Operator have access to such details and thus it is contended that these persons have been acting "with the connivance" of the fair price shop dealers to manipulate the data.

It is alleged that in case of the petitioner, it was found that schedule commodities meant for 311 ration card holders had been distributed to holders of two Aadhar card only. It has been inferred that the same was not possible without the petitioner being in collusion with those responsible for the fraud. It has also been alleged that the petitioner had black-marketed the "ration of 311 card holders with the connivance of login operators".

The Court was however not convinced with these arguments and observed,

"It has not been explained how the fair price shop dealer can have access to the server… How the system works and how the petitioner was involved, has also not been explained…

… The matter relating to the petitioner is also under investigation. In such circumstances, what was evidence in possession of the respondents in proceeding to cancel the licence of the petitioner, has not been disclosed nor brought on record."

Consequently, it has granted some more time to the Standing Counsel to clarify the above aspects, by filing a detailed affidavit. Liberty is granted to the Petitioner to file affidavit in rebuttal.

The matter is now listed for hearing on November 4, 2020.

Case Details:

Case Title: Awadhesh Kumar v. State of UP & Ors.

Case No.: Writ C No. 15642/2020

Quorum: Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta

Appearance: Senior Advocate Anoop Trivedi with Advocates Vibhu Rai, Abhinav Gaur and Abhishek Shukla (for Petitioner)

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