The order, passed on 27 July by a Division Bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata, was made public on Tuesday (25 August). The judges noted that foreigners had secured Aadhaar cards by deceit to pass themselves off as Indians and mask their real identities.

The Bench said several matters involving illegal entrants acquiring basic documents through fraud had reached the court, and that investigating agencies had flagged the involvement of such persons in anti-national activity once those papers were in hand.

It pointed to weaknesses in coordination between agencies and in verification of documents, warning that fraudulently issued Aadhaar cards leave identity, immigration and security systems exposed.

State and Central agencies, the court said, must work together to trace and deport such persons on priority, since procedural delays should not work to the advantage of infiltrators.

The observations came in a petition moved by the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai Police through the State, which sought the documents submitted by Majid Khan Shah Hajrat Shah, also known as Miraj Tahir Khan, to obtain Aadhaar. The State said Shah, an Afghan national, arrived on a visa valid till 2018 and stayed on illegally.

The UIDAI relied on Section 29 of the Act to argue that such records could be shared only if a court ordered it.

The court held that the UIDAI must build in exceptions or separate procedures for cases involving trafficking and cross-border infiltration.

It directed verification of Shah's citizenship, action under the Foreigners Act, Passport Act and Citizenship Act, deportation proceedings within four weeks, a re-entry ban, blacklisting and circulation of photographs to police stations statewide.

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