The Allahabad High Court has sought formal responses from the Union government and the Uttar Pradesh administration on a public interest litigation challenging the Aadhaar-based mechanism for granting driving and learning licences, following allegations that a permit was issued under the name of a deceased individual.
A Lucknow division bench comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi also ordered that notice be issued to the Attorney General of India because the petition challenges the validity of federal motoring regulations. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing in six weeks, according to an order made available on Monday following court proceedings held last week.
Legal Challenge to Age Verification
The petition, brought by Santosh Mishra, challenges Rule 11 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, along with associated administrative notifications concerning Aadhaar authentication.
Under the contested digital framework, an applicant submits an Aadhaar number, enabling transport authorities to pull personal records directly from the Aadhaar database to process the permit. The petitioner argued that this protocol violates the Motor Vehicles Act because Aadhaar cannot legally serve as conclusive proof of age. He maintained that uncritical reliance on the database creates a loophole allowing applicants below the statutory thresholds of 16 or 18 years to obtain driving permits.
Allegations of Severe Systemic Lapses
Mishra submitted documentary records to the bench demonstrating that a learning licence had been generated in the name of a dead person through the use of that individual’s Aadhaar credentials. The plea highlighted a second instance in which an applicant uploaded an obscene image alongside Aadhaar details, yet the licensing portal still cleared and issued the permit.
The petitioner characterized these occurrences as substantial breaches of administrative oversight, arguing that unverified issuances present grave security liabilities that could ultimately impact national security.
State Defense and Judicial Query
Counsel representing the Union and state governments contested the petition, stating that inputting an Aadhaar number does not grant immediate approval and that candidates must still satisfy separate regulatory requirements before a licence is granted.
The bench asked the government counsel to explain how, despite those safeguards, a learning licence could have been generated for a deceased individual if the documented claim proved accurate. The government representative was unable to offer a clarification to the court during the proceedings.
