On October 7, 2025, the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to verify whether the Aadhaar number of a missing girl had been used in any online transactions, including linking to mobile phones or bank accounts, to assist the police in tracing her whereabouts.
Case Background
The petition was filed by the father of the missing girl, who had been untraceable for several days. The police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping. A colleague of the missing girl had provided information about a man who might be involved in the case. Despite this lead, the father alleged that the authorities had not examined his call details or investigated the matter thoroughly.
In response, the High Court directed the police to investigate the matter further, including interrogating the accused individual and filing a status report. The police subsequently reported that they had examined two individuals allegedly involved in the abduction and their relatives; however, the girl remained untraced. The police also mentioned that efforts were made to determine whether the girl's Aadhaar card had been linked to any bank account or mobile number, but no such information was provided by the Aadhaar Seva Kendra in Jabalpur, citing the absence of a provision for verifying such linkages on the portal.
Court's Observations and Directions
The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Dwarka Dhish Bansal observed that Aadhaar is unique to every individual and is connected with biometric data, making it difficult for someone to obtain a second Aadhaar card. They noted that all bank accounts and mobile phones are required to be linked to Aadhaar, which could provide clues about the girl's whereabouts. Consequently, the Court directed the UIDAI to verify whether the missing girl's Aadhaar number had been used for any online transactions or linked to any services and to share this information with the police to aid in tracing her.
This directive underscores the potential of Aadhaar data in assisting law enforcement agencies in locating missing persons and highlights the Court's proactive approach in utilizing available technological tools to ensure justice.
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