Sri Lanka's Supreme Court issues notice to govt on India-funded digital ID project

Colombo, Aug 27 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Cabinet over the India-funded Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) programme following a petition alleging violation of fundamental rights.

The petition was filed by former minister Wimal Weerawansa, who contended that the government's decision to proceed with the project violates fundamental rights and lacked transparency as neither Parliament nor the public had been adequately informed.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Colombo in April, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on sharing India's large-scale digital solutions to support Sri Lanka's digital transformation drive.

The Unique Digital Identity project, backed by an Indian grant, aims to provide Sri Lankan citizens with a secure digital ID similar to India’s Aadhaar system. It is being implemented through cooperation between India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Digital Economy.

In his petition, Weerawansa argued that the original MoU signed with India in 2022 had been amended by Cabinet decisions in January and June this year, enabling New Delhi to "select and control" the project's core technical infrastructure, including the Master System Integrator (MSI) and the biometric database software (MOSIP).

He claimed that the project posed a threat to Sri Lanka's national security as citizens' biometric and demographic data could be exposed to foreign entities without adequate safeguards.

The Supreme Court has fixed the next hearing for October 17. PTI CORR SCY SCY