A fortnight after the Supreme Court passed an interim order stating that Aadhaar could not be made mandatory for providing subsidies or for getting government scheme benefits, Usha Ramanathan, an independent law researcher, here on Monday spoke about the uncertainty about the future of the project of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Delivering a talk on the Aadhaar project and its implications in the context of the directive of the Supreme Court, she said that even as the hearing of the three oil PSUs who moved to the Supreme Court seeking modification of its earlier order is due on Tuesday, there was a need for people to raise their voice and question the process as it infringes on issues pertaining to privacy.

Stating that the UIDAI was an “experiment” on the entire population of the country. Making a dig at how the data was collected for the homeless, she said that there was a need to produce multiple identities in order to get an identity. Citing an example of a homeless person whose address for the card was that of an NGO, she said that it would create confusion at a later stage. “The system does not have an understanding of how the poor live,” she added. She said that the State should ensure that it does not infringe on the privacy of the citizens as UIDAI data can be conveniently used by the marketing industry.