You might recall that only recently The Tribune exposed a UIDAI security breach that allowed anyone and everyone who has 10 minutes and a mere Rs. 500 at their disposal, to get access to the Aadhaar details of 1 billion Indians. 

This news obviously didn't go down well with the citizens of the country and what followed was widespread outrage. 

That very day, UIDAI went ahead and took to their social media accounts and outright declared The Tribune's story a case of misreporting.

Tribune's Story “Rs 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details” is a case of misreporting. No biometric data breach @thetribunechd @rsprasad @ceo_uidai @timesofindia @firstpost @IndiaToday @ZeeNews

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 4, 2018

The nation was waiting for a clear explanation from UIDAI about this fiasco while their website went down for a while. But what has now happened has stirred the country once again. 

UIDAI has now filed an FIR against The Tribune and its reporter Rachna Khaira. The FIR also names Anil Kumar, Sunil Kumar and Raj, all of whom were mentioned in The Tribune report as people who were contacted by Khaira in the course of her reporting.

Harish Khare, the Editor-in-chief of The Tribune commented on the whole matter through the Twitter handle of the newspaper.

The #Tribune Editor-in-Chief's statement on #Aadhaar #FIR pic.twitter.com/Mjmr5HK8Mb

— The Tribune (@thetribunechd) January 7, 2018

What followed this news was eminent journalists raging with anger. While some condemn the act, others call it an attack on freedom of expression. 

Hey @UIDAI,

Can you please file an FIR against yourself for gross negligence and endangering citizens?

Since you are the only one who is allowed to file FIRs, please do it. A thorough investigation of UIDAI needs to be initiated.

Thanks.

— Meghnad (@Memeghnad) January 7, 2018

Totally wrong for UIDAI to file an FIR against the journalist who exposed #AadharLeaks If a loophole is pointed out Govt should work on fixing the flaw rather than try to shoot the messenger. Don't intimidate journalists. Not on. https://t.co/6mxDrZlrLC

— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) January 7, 2018

Instead of thanking Tribune reporter who exposed gap in Aadhaar security -- biometrics safe but y should email/phone/address be available? --so it can be plugged @uidai files FIR against reporter!Bad idea @ceo_uidai Had it not been for report,Uidai wouldn't even know about breach pic.twitter.com/iCdwvyFoIB

— Sunil Jain (@thesuniljain) January 7, 2018

Ditto. Refute disagreements. If you think Tribune  story defamatory or inaccurate argue it- on fact-  but whats with the FIR against a reporter doing her job? https://t.co/yVUC2NSRZo

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) January 7, 2018

Dear @UIDAI: Reporter who showed that Aadhaar numbers are for sale deserves award, not FIR. https://t.co/bI8L73xrXC pic.twitter.com/iBxGByZl2I

— Sadanand Dhume (@dhume) January 7, 2018

Tribune reporter blew the whistle on Aadhaar showing how easy it is to steal personal info from Aadhaar database.Instead of rewarding her as a whistleblower,the govt has registered an FIR against her!This is why Modi govt has not notified Whistleblower lawhttps://t.co/0szECv3dLD

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) January 7, 2018

We should condemn the move by #UIDAI to file FIR against The Tribune newspaper and journalist @rachnakhaira for brave reportage exposing loopholes in #Aadhar and how easily for Rs. 500 an agent can share private information within 10 minutes. Shooting the messenger won't help.

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) January 7, 2018

Filing FIR against reporter for exposing Aadhar breach, suing journalists for fact-based stories, calling them names are all part of the same trend: the msg to journos is, don't ask questions, become chamchas. Well, some will never do that

— Sidharth Bhatia (@bombaywallah) January 7, 2018

Withdraw the FIR against @thetribunechd reporter, UIDAI. You can refute what you find unfair or wrong. But throwing cops at reporters is, as stupid as it is unsustainable https://t.co/o3vNtqFUsq

— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) January 7, 2018

Even the Editors Guild came out in support of The Tribune.

After seeing this outrage, UIDAI again took to Twitter to declare that they do not intend to 'target' the media. However, they did make it clear that they still firmly by their decision of filing the FIR. 

In the recent case of The Tribune's report in which an FIR is filed, an impression is being created in media that UIDAI is targeting the media or whistleblowers or “shooting the messenger”. This is not at all true. 1/n@timesofindia @DeccanHerald @DeccanChronicle @IndianExpress

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 7, 2018

This is a case in which even though there was no breach of Aadhaar biometric database, it is for the act of unauthorized access, criminal proceedings have been initiated. 2/n @htTweets @FinancialXpress @TheQuint @EconomicTimes @ndtv @aajtak @CNBCTV18News

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 7, 2018

We respect Free Speech including the Freedom of Press and Media. However, our act of filing an FIR with full details of the incident should not be viewed as targeting the media or the whistle-blowers or “shooting the messenger. 3/n@ETNOWlive @abpnewstv @TimesNow

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 7, 2018

They also asked for The Tribune to cooperate and for their suggestions in this matter. 

UIDAI is committed to the freedom of Press. We're going to write to @thetribunechd & @rachnakhaira to give all assistance to investigate to nab the real culprits. We also appreciate if Tribune & its journalist have any constructive suggestion to offer. https://t.co/H3OtQSiFeJ

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 8, 2018

We don't know in which direction this matter would go in now, but we fear that it already has taken an ugly turn.