The National Law School of India, Bangalore (NLSIU) has been invited to organize a national consultation on the possible legal and constitutional issues emerging from the Unique Identification Number Project initiated under the stewardship of former Infosys Co-Chairman, Nandan Nilekani. The project aims to rationalize the existing means of welfare distribution in India by having a universal card and number that could be used by all residents to access government services.

The government set up the UID Authority of India (UIDAI) in February this year, under the aegis of the Planning Commission as the apex coordinating body for this project. The UIDAI is currently looking to draft legislation for the Planning Commission, and will be organizing a series of specialized consultations relating to the bill and its implementation. The first in this series is a partnership with NLSIU, which was conceptualized with the active involvement of M.S. Srikar, an alumnus of NLSIU. Srikar, an IAS officer, has currently been assigned to serve as personal secretary to Nandan Nilekani, whose ex-officio rank is that of cabinet minister.

The consultation program has been tentatively scheduled for the last week of November and is a prelude to several such discussions envisaged in the process of drafting the bill. Prof. V. Vijayakumar [pictured], a constitutional law expert teaching at NLSIU, is in charge of the consultation.

He informed Bar & Bench that the conference will address issues relating to right to privacy, data collection and security and fraud. "We are providing a platform for meaningful deliberation on the legal implications of such a number. There are possible issues that may arise in relation to retention of fingerprints while registering people which could be counted as evidence under criminal law," he said.

Students from NLSIU, are generating background material and researching on various associated issues under the guidance of Prof. Vijayakumar.

Though the consultation is still at preliminary stages of organization, it is likely that all Vice Chancellors of the eight other national law universities will be present. Prof. Vijayakumar also confirmed the participation of industry experts in the fields of data and software security, teachers and lawyers. Invites are also currently being sent out to constitutional experts in the field.