Lanka SC issues notice to govt over India-backed ID project

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Cabinet over the India-funded Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) programme following a petition alleging violation of fundamental rights.

The petition was filed by former minister Wimal Weerawansa, who contended that the government’s decision to proceed with the project violates fundamental rights and lacked transparency as neither Parliament nor the public had been adequately informed.

During PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo in April, the two sides signed an MoU on sharing India’s large-scale digital solutions to support Sri Lanka’s digital transformation drive.

The Unique Digital Identity project, backed by an Indian grant, aims to provide Sri Lankan citizens with a secure digital ID similar to India’s Aadhaar system. The petitioner claimed the project posed a threat to Sri Lanka’s national security as citizens’ biometric data could be exposed to foreign entities without adequate safeguards.