The Unique Identification Authority of India on Monday told the Delhi High Court that it was technically not possible to match the fingerprints of an unidentified body with the biometrics of 120 crore people stored in its database, PTI reported.

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by social activist Amit Sahni seeking a direction to the Centre and UIDAI to utilise Aadhaar biometrics to identify unidentified bodies. The petition also sought a direction to the Centre, UIDAI, National Crime Records Bureau and all the states to scan biometrics of unidentified bodies and process them with Aadhaar portal to trace pre-existing biometric details.

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UIDAI’s counsel told the bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao that matching biometrics, including fingerprints and iris, is done on a 1:1 basis and the Aadhaar number is required for that.

The High Court bench asked the UIDAI to file its response to the plea, explaining why it was not possible to match the fingerprints of unidentified bodies with those in the Aadhaar database. It also sought a response from the National Crime Records Bureau and listed the matter for hearing on February 5.

During the hearing on Monday, the UIDAI’s counsel referred to an October 12 order passed by the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court where an investigating officer had moved the court seeking permission to compare fingerprints of a dead woman in the Aadhaar database to establish her identity. The High Court had dismissed the officer’s plea after the UIDAI said it was not possible to compare the fingerprints with the information stored.

The petitioner had filed a similar plea in the Supreme Court which asked him to approach the Delhi High Court where he had already filed a plea seeking to use Aadhaar biometrics to trace and re-unite missing and mentally-challenged people with their families. He later withdrew the plea from the Supreme Court.