दिल्ली हाई कोर्ट ने सार्वजनिक अभियोजकों के लिए आधार‑बायोमैट्रिक हाजिरी आदेश को रोका

Delhi High Court Stays Order Making Aadhaar-Based Biometric Attendance Mandatory For Public Prosecutors

Nupur Thapliyal

9 Oct 2026 12:36 PM IST

The Delhi High Court has stayed an order issued by the Delhi Government's Directorate of Prosecution making Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance compulsory for public prosecutors, additional public prosecutors and assistant public prosecutors.

Justice Amit Mahajan passed the order on a plea filed by the Delhi Prosecutors Welfare Association challenging the Directorate's order passed on October 05, as well as earlier circulars mandating registration and daily attendance through the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS).

The impugned order had directed all prosecuting officers to register themselves on the AEBAS portal and mark daily attendance through biometric machines or a mobile application using face recognition.

It also warned that non-compliance would attract action under the applicable rules.

The Association challenged the mandatory attendance mechanism, contending that the nature of prosecutorial duties makes a fixed, office-based attendance system impractical.

The plea argues that Prosecuting Officers are officers of the Court appointed under Sections 18 and 19 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and that their work is in the courtroom and their presence is recorded daily in the judicial order sheets.

“The impugned action is unreasoned, contrary to the Order dated 17.08.2026, contrary to Sections 4(3) and 8 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 as explained in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2019) 1 SCC 1, a disproportionate intrusion into privacy under Article 21, and arbitrary under Article 14,” the plea states.

The petition further contends that compulsory Aadhaar authentication without an alternative mechanism violates the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and infringes the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The Association has also questioned the decision-making process preceding the impugned order, alleging that the authorities rejected its objections without recording reasons or adequately considering its concerns.

The development comes after the Association approached the Court again following an earlier order directing the Delhi Government to decide its representation against mandatory biometric attendance after granting it a personal hearing.

The plea avers that the requirement of marking arrival at the “assigned Court Complex” and departure “as per duty hours”, coupled with treating appearances before other Courts, jail duties, visits to police stations, FSL and other case-related engagements as “mid-day movement requiring weekly regularization, fails to account for the manner in which prosecutorial duties are actually discharged.

“That such a rigid attendance regime not only imposes an unreasonable administrative burden upon Chief Public Prosecutors to account for routine court-related movements, but also has the potential to divert Prosecuting Officers from their primary judicial functions and cause avoidable delays in remand, bail and trial proceedings, thereby adversely affecting the expeditious administration of criminal justice and the constitutional guarantee of speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” it adds.

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