Goa: HC directs UIDAI to grant police access to docs Israeli man used to obtain Aadhaar card
Atala, a notorious drug dealer, was arrested in April this year for offences of possession of contraband suspected to be cocaine.
The Bombay high court at Goa has directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to disclose to investigating authorities the documents Israeli national Yaniv Benaim alias Atala, who was caught with narcotics and without a valid visa and passport, used to obtain a valid Aadhaar card.
The single judge bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes, in an order pronounced on Tuesday, also said that while foreigners were eligible to apply for Aadhaar cards, only those with a residence permit can be issued Aadhaar cards and not those with a visiting visa.
The Goa Police had approached the court after the UIDAI refused to disclose the documents submitted while applying for an Aadhaar card saying sharing such details with the investigating authorities would amount to violating the card holder’s privacy.
The court, however, ruled in favour of the police.
“...the information sought by the Applicant (Police Inspector) by this application is to enable the Investigating Officer to establish the manner in which, and by what validating documents, in the absence of the Respondent No.3 (accused Yaniv Benaim) holding a valid passport or visa on the relevant day, the Aadhaar Card was issued to establish the said Respondent’s residence status,” the judge observed.
“On this count, the application must be allowed, as the content of the demographic information would have a direct bearing on the investigation and especially in the Crime No.61/2025 under the Foreigners Order Act and Foreigners Act,” the high court said.
The UIDAI had submitted to the court in a sealed cover the documents based on which the Aadhaar was made, and said it would abide by the decision of the HC.
Atala, in his arguments opposing the disclosure of his Aadhaar details, argued that he is an Israeli national and claimed that there was “no illegality committed by him in applying for or in the issuance of the Aadhaar card in his favour”.
He further said that “if the information sought was released to the Applicant, the fundamental rights of right to privacy, under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, would be violated… disclosure of information related to biometric and demographic data is an essential component of his personal liberty and such disclosure should pass the three-fold test laid down by the Supreme Court in its landmark privacy judgement.”
The HC also ruled that while Section 3 of the Aadhaar Act provides that every resident, shall be entitled to an Aadhaar number and therefore entitles a person who is a resident of India, irrespective of nationality, to obtain an Aadhaar, “the word ‘resident’ must be read in context of valid residence”.
“In the event that the applicant is a foreigner, he would be required to have a visa or travel document issued by the Government of India, to enable him to reside in India for such time as would be permitted by the visa conditions. Obviously, such a visa or travel document would require him to have a residential permit, and not just a visiting visa, to qualify him for obtaining an Aadhaar number,” the HC also said.
Atala, a notorious drug dealer, was arrested in April this year for offences of possession of contraband suspected to be cocaine.
Earlier, in 2019 he was booked in a case of attempted murder, but during the trial he tried to flee to Nepal via Uttarakhand, but was arrested at Bambasa Police Station, Champawat in Uttarakhand, for not having valid documents to stay in India.
During the trial of the Champawat case, he was brought to Goa as he was required to face trial in Anjuna for attempted murder and another case of 2007. He was granted bail in 2020 in both the Goa and Champawat cases, but was convicted on 30 March 2024 and sentenced to 1 year 7 month-imprisonment, including the default sentence which he had already served since he was in custody for other offences.
It is during the trial of these offences, that he obtained an Aadhaar card on 11 August 2021, despite admittedly not possessing a valid passport, valid visa or any travel document.
Earlier, he was deported from Peru by the CBI on 25 August 2011 and has been in India since then.
