Madras HC restrains DMK from using OTP verification messages for their party's enrollment drive 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu'

Time of India

3 days ago

MADURAI:
Madras high court
on Monday ordered an interim injunction to the limited extent of restraining DMK from using OTP verification messages for their party's enrollment drive 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu', since the matter involves aspects of data protection and privacy which are to be examined by the court.
A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete observed that 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu' is a door-to-door membership drive done by a recognised political party (DMK) in the state. Since personal data is being collected from the people, this public interest litigation raises serious concerns about the right to privacy and the infrastructure available for data protection.
The judges observed that digital membership drive by political parties in a new area of study.
The aspect of how the data is stored and processed is to be looked into to safeguard the right to privacy and right to political affiliation of the citizens. Several aspects as to whether consensus is obtained from the people for the enrollment drive, whether such a process of data collection from the public would put other smaller parties in a disadvantageous position should also be examined.
Hence, the judges passed an interim order to a limited extent restraining DMK from using OTP verification messages for 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu' enrollment drive.
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The judges ordered notice and sought response from the Centre, state and DMK. The hearing in the case was adjourned by two weeks.
The court passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by S Rajkumar, a resident of T Athikarai village in Sivaganga district. The petitioner said that the DMK party cadres and functionaries under the guise political campaign 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu' are collecting the personal and Aadhaar details from the public in his locality.
They also demanded personal details and identification documents including Aadhaar, voter identity cards from his family members, claiming it was required for the sanction of govt benefits.
They threatened to stop the monthly monetary assistance received by the women in the family when they refused to give them the documents.
The petitioner also claimed that DMK cadres are also collecting the mobile numbers of people and are sending them messages regarding 'Oraniyil Tamil Nadu' campaign which.
Many people are unaware of the implications of the messages and the OTP, he said, adding that the DMK party cadres were also threatening the people that govt schemes would be stopped if they fail to join the party.
He said the unauthorised collection and processing of Aadhaar information by DMK constituted a violation of the fundamental right of citizens. The collection of Aadhaar details by private entities, including political parties, for purposes other than those explicitly permitted by law, constitutes a severe invasion of privacy, he said.
The data collected by the DMK cadres from the public can be used to create detailed profiles of citizens, potentially influencing electoral outcomes through targeted messaging, micro-targeting, and manipulative propaganda.
Hence, the petitioner sought a direction to restrain the DMK and its cadres from collecting Aadhaar details from the public for any purpose. The petitioner also sought a direction to the chief executive officer of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and secretary to the Union ministry of electronics and information technology to initiate a thorough investigation into the unauthorized collection of Aadhaar details by DMK.