Unverified SIMs may be denied recharge

New Delhi : The Supreme Court today asked the government to mandatorily subject all unverified prepaid mobile phone subscribers to a proper verification process to ensure that their SIM cards were not misused for criminal or terrorist activities.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar said such an exercise could be undertaken in a phased manner. The subscribers using unverified prepaid mobile phone numbers could be given six months for verification, failing which they should not be allowed any recharge facility.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Bench that all new cellphone subscribers were being subjected to an ‘Aadhaar-based e-KYC’ process. The top court’s suggestion came after a PIL petitioner, Lokniti Foundation, pointed out that almost five crore prepaid subscribers were using their mobile phones without proper verification.
Expressing serious concern over the possibility of misuse of unverified cellphone numbers, the Bench said such subscribers could be given an opportunity to get themselves verified at the time of recharge. The court disposed of the PIL after the Attorney General gave an assurance that the government would complete the verification process within a year. During the hearing, Rohatgi said it’s a complicated matter as more than 90 per cent of the mobile phone subscribers were prepaid who got their phone recharged at lakhs of kiosks spread across the country. He said mobile phones were not being used for a host of other services, including banking.
Lokniti Foundation had filed the PIL in July 2016 seeking the court’s intervention to check misuse of unverified SIM cards in mobile phones for criminal and terrorist activities.