UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — HC flags issue of foreign nationals using fake Aadhaar

Q1. Under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 as it stands after the 2019 amendment, disclosure of an Aadhaar number holder's identity information in the interest of national security may be directed by which one of the following?

  • A. An officer of the Central Government not below the rank of Secretary, the direction being subject to review by an Oversight Committee
  • B. An officer of the Central Government not below the rank of Joint Secretary, the direction being subject to review by an Oversight Committee
  • C. The Chief Executive Officer of the UIDAI, the direction being subject to confirmation by the Chairperson of the Authority
  • D. The Adjudicating Officer appointed by the UIDAI, the direction being appealable to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal

Q2. Which one of the following most accurately states the restriction imposed by Section 29 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016?

  • A. Core biometric information collected or created under the Act shall not be shared, while identity information other than core biometric information may be shared only in accordance with the Act and the regulations
  • B. No identity information whatsoever collected or created under the Act may be shared with any person or entity under any circumstances, the Act admitting of no exception at all
  • C. All identity information, including core biometric information, may be shared freely with any requesting entity once the Aadhaar number holder has given written consent for such sharing
  • D. Core biometric information may be shared with every law-enforcement agency of the Union and of the States as a matter of routine practice in the course of criminal investigation

Q3. Apart from the Chairperson who heads it, the Unique Identification Authority of India as constituted under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 consists of which one of the following?

  • A. Two part-time members and a Chief Executive Officer
  • B. Two whole-time members and a Member-Secretary
  • C. Three part-time members and a Director General
  • D. Four whole-time members and a Chief Executive Officer

Q4. The Unique Identification Authority of India acquired the status of a statutory authority in which one of the following ways?

  • A. It was established in 2016 under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 by the Government in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • B. It was constituted in 2009 by an executive notification of the Planning Commission, which alone remains the sole and permanent source of its legal authority to this day
  • C. It was created in 2019 by the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, which for the first time gave the Authority a statutory basis of any kind
  • D. It was set up in 2023 under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which transferred to it the entire regulatory mandate over all personal data in India

Q5. The proceedings in which the Bombay High Court in 2026 dealt with an alleged Afghan national holding a fraudulently obtained Aadhaar card were pursued before it by which one of the following?

  • A. The Crime Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai Police, acting for the State of Maharashtra
  • B. The Foreigners Regional Registration Office, Mumbai, under the Bureau of Immigration
  • C. The National Investigation Agency, acting through its Mumbai branch office
  • D. The Enforcement Directorate, acting through its Mumbai zonal office

Q6. In its 2026 order on illegal foreign nationals holding fraudulently obtained Aadhaar cards, the Bombay High Court asked which authorities to consider amending the Aadhaar Act, 2016 so as to enable faster tracing and deportation?

  • A. The Union Government and the UIDAI
  • B. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government of Maharashtra
  • C. The Law Commission of India and the Ministry of Law and Justice
  • D. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs and the UIDAI

Q7. The 2017 verdict holding privacy to be a fundamental right intrinsic to Article 21 was delivered by a Supreme Court bench of how many judges?

  • A. Five
  • B. Seven
  • C. Nine
  • D. Eleven

Q8. Aadhaar enrolment is open to a 'resident' of India. Which one of the following best describes who qualifies as such a resident?

  • A. An individual who has resided in India for a period totalling 182 days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of the application
  • B. An individual who is a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident at the address given in the application, irrespective of any period of stay
  • C. An individual who has resided in India for 180 days or more during the financial year immediately preceding the date of the application
  • D. An individual who has resided in India continuously for the twelve months immediately preceding the application without any absence abroad

Q9. The provision under which the onus of proving that a person is not a foreigner lies upon that person, notwithstanding anything contained in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, is found in which one of the following?

  • A. The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025
  • B. The Citizenship Act, 1955, as amended in 2019
  • C. The Passports Act, 1967, read with the Passport (Entry into India) Rules
  • D. The Foreigners Order, 1948, which continues in force as the sole basis for all deportation

Q10. The UIDAI, which High Courts have been directing to part with enrolment records in fake-Aadhaar cases, functions under the administrative control of which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • B. The Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. The Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice
  • D. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation