Aadhaar integration in bail bonds: HC asks Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh to clarify stand

More than a year after the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued Aadhaar integration and other directives to curb impersonation in bail matters, an advocate has filed a petition in public interest, seeking implementation of the directions. Taking up the matter, the bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Ramesh Kumari today asked counsel for the states of Punjab and Haryana, along with the Chandigarh Administration, to seek instructions. The case will now come up for hearing on September 18.

In his petition, advocate Kanwar Pahul Singh submitted: “Till today, nothing has been done by the respondents to implement the directions of this court in case.

Citing the adage ‘bad money keeps good money out of circulation’ to demonstrate the displacement of genuine sureties by professionals in bail matters, Justice Pankaj Jain in his last year’s May 10 order had issued nine directions for seamless Aadhaar integration to curb the menace of impersonation and streamline the procedure.

Justice Pankaj Jain, to begin with, directed the secretaries of e-governance departments of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to submit appropriate application to the secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, for Aadhaar authentication services in all court premises within 30 days. The ministry, in turn, was directed to consider favourably the applications before providing necessary equipment to the courts with the state and central government contribution.

Justice Jain added the entire system, including software and hardware, was required to be made operational within four months. The National Informatics Centre was directed to provide the infrastructure for biometric verification of Aadhaar cards on the court premises with the technical assistance of UIDAI.

Justice Jain also made it clear that the courts while accepting surety would insist on complete details and identity document of the surety, including Aadhaar card, once the infrastructure was in place. The surety’s consent would be obtained for Aadhaar verification.

The magistrates would verify the Aadhaar card of the accused in the case of personal bond, and of sureties as well in the case of surety bonds. For first-time accused facing less than seven years’ imprisonment under the IPC, the courts would adhere to Supreme Court guidelines, not insisting on sureties if specified parameters were met on inquiry/Aadhaar verification.

The surety module, integrating Aadhaar and property details tendered as surety, would be fully implemented and utilised optimally. “Whenever a person is to stand as surety, the same shall be cross-checked with the database…,” Justice Jain asserted.