Supreme Court urges Centre to protect EPFO and ITR data from private misuse

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Union Government to consider implementing safeguards to prevent the misuse of sensitive personal data held by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the Income Tax Department (ITR).

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant expressed concern regarding a commercial technology ecosystem that allegedly accesses, retrieves, and verifies private information. The court described the private access to sovereign data and personal information submitted under statutory mandates as “worrisome,” noting the potential for commercial exploitation.

The matter arose from a public interest litigation alleging that private verification agencies can retrieve complete employment histories and financial details simply by using Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Universal Account Number (UAN) identifiers. The court suggested that the government should address the issue with the assistance of domain experts and indicated that a comprehensive decision should preferably be taken within four months.