The Kerala High Court has recently highlighted the significance of the government keeping up with emerging global demands and changes in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to achieve the vision of a fully digital India.
A single-judge Justice CS Dias emphasized the need for certificates issued by the Central government and statutory authorities to align with international standards, given the advancements in AI and initiatives like IndiaStack.
“We are in the AI era and the 5G revolution. Our nation is a front-runner in technology. We are striving to make India Digital with initiatives like Indiastack.global, to have a repository of open standards and interoperability principles of key projects implemented under the Digital India Mission like Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker etc. The certificates issued by the government and statutory authorities have to be internationally accepted, especially when India is a signatory to international conventions and treaties… the Government and Instrumentalities have to be abreast with the ever-emerging global demands. If our vision to have a digital India is to materialise, we must be willing to change every minute to catch up with the global world and not adopt a pedantic and rigid approach,” the order reads.
The bench delivered its judgment in response to a plea filed by Ejo PJ, who sought a valid police clearance certificate from the regional passport officer. Ejo PJ, who was employed in Kuwait, had obtained a police clearance certificate after being granted bail in a criminal case related to matrimonial offenses. However, the Embassy of Kuwait refused to accept the certificate as it lacked a barcode, scanned photograph, and information regarding the status of the criminal case.
Despite previously approaching the High Court and obtaining an order directing the authorities to issue a proper certificate, the petitioner’s request was not fulfilled. This led to the current petition before the High Court. In their response to the plea, the passport authorities stated that the certificates are issued from the system based on the Ministry of External Affairs database.
The authorities argued that the central database allows for the issuance of certificates with barcodes and scanned photographs only if the applicant has no criminal history. If there are criminal antecedents, a manual certificate without a barcode and scanned photograph may be issued.
“This Court finds the stand of the first respondent to be cavil, naïve and unacceptable,” the single bench stated in its response to the submission of the passport authorities.
It further stated the importance of keeping up to date with global standards.
“When situations like the one on hand arise, which are global demands due to the emergence of technology, we cannot just throw our hands in the air and express helplessness. A certificate with a barcode and scanned photograph quickly confirms the information and identifies the person from large databases by scanning or swiping the document. It also eliminates the cumbersome process of apostille stamping/attestation of the document by foreign missions. Barcodes also have high-security features and eradicate fraud,” the bench remarked.
Justice Dias expressed the view that by making slight adjustments to the central database, future litigation of this nature could be avoided. Consequently, it directed the passport authorities to raise the issue with the relevant authorities in order to implement the required modifications to the central system and issue the appropriate certificate to the petitioner.
Additionally, the bench directed the Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) to send a copy of the judgment to the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, for information and compliance.
