Verify mobile users’ identities: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday that an effective identification mechanism would be put in place within a year to ensure 100 per cent verification of mobile phone subscribers, including all pre-paid ones, through Aadhar cards.

Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi made this submission before a bench comprising Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice N.V. Ramana, hearing a PIL seeking a full-proof mechanism to verify the identities of mobile phone users.

The AG told the bench that an application form would be required to be filled up by new mobile subscribers through the e-KYC (know your customer) process being followed now. About 90% of mobile subscribers use pre-paid connections, and a mechanism will soon be put to action to verify their identities, the AG said. Aadhar numbers will be made mandatory, and the process will be completed within one year, Mr Rohatgi added.

Taking on record Mr Rohatgi’s submissions, the bench disposed of the PIL filed by Lok Niti Foundation, expressing concern over the possibility of cell phones being misused to perpetuate frauds of all sorts. The PIL demanded that the government set up a 100 per cent verification regime for cell phone subscribers, a mechanism that would check their identities and addresses as well.

The petition claimed that despite several earlier directions by Trai, the telecom regulatory authority, there were about 5.25 crore unverified mobile phone subscribers in the country.

The PIL said society had earlier submitted representations to both DoT and Trai to revise the mobile subscribers verification policy to incorporate the CAG’s suggestions to plug the loopholes in the system, but no effective action was taken. The NGO claimed that of the 105 cr subscribers by February 2016, a good five per cent were still unverified.