Madras High Court Stays Collection Of Aadhaar Data During DMK's Membership Drive

In a significant interim order, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday restrained the ruling party DMK from collecting Aadhaar numbers and OTPs from the public as a part of its ongoing membership drive. However, the court allowed the party to continue with the drive itself, pending further hearings.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) represented by an AIADMK advocate, who alleged that the DMK's act ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections violates privacy laws and the Aadhaar Act.

The petitioner argued that the DMK was collecting Aadhaar numbers, ration card details, voter IDs, bank passbooks and mobile numbers, and using the OTP verification process to build a database for political propaganda. 

He claimed that women in particular were being misled or coerced with threats that failure to share these documents could affect their eligibility for government schemes, including the state's monthly stipend for women.

The plea alleged that such collection of personal information, especially Aadhaar details, for non-statutory purposes was unlawful as per the Aadhaar Act, which permits use of Aadhaar only for authorised government-related services and benefits. The DMK, the petitioner noted, is not a recognised entity authorised to seek Aadhaar authentication.

Seeking to declare the DMK's data collection unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental right to privacy, the petitioner also urged the court to:

Order the destruction of any Aadhaar-linked data already collected and Direct the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to launch an investigation 

DMK spokesperson, Dr Syed Hafeezullah denied the charges, saying, "Membership is entirely voluntary. We do not collect Aadhaar data. The OTP system is a simple tool to verify mobile numbers, and there is no privacy violation involved."

The DMK's legal team is expected to formally respond to the court's interim order this evening. Meanwhile, the Madurai Bench has also tagged the Election Commission and UIDAI in the case and will continue hearing the matter.

The ruling DMK campaign aims to enrol at least 30% of Tamil Nadu's voters as members as it gears up for the 2026 assembly elections. With AIADMK and BJP reviving ties and actor Vijay's TVK making its electoral debut, the election is likely to be a four cornered contest with Vijay's star power.