A Guide to Litigating Identity Systems d) The dissent of the Indian Supreme Court cites a report titled “Biometric Recognition: Challenges & Opportunities” by the National Academy of Science USA, which states that biometric recognition systems are inherently probabilistic because biometric characteristics can change as a result of various factors such as “changes in age, environment, disease, stress, occupational factors, training and prompting, intentional alterations, socio-cultural aspects of the situation in which the presentation occurs, changes in human interface with the system, and so on.”283 67. Identity systems disproportionately impact the rights of marginalised and vulnerable people, compounding and multiplying factors of exclusion. a) The dissent of the Indian Supreme Court observes that while Aadhaar is likely to cover every basic aspect of the lives of all citizens, the impact is particularly adverse for marginalised citizens who are dependent on the government’s social security schemes and other welfare programmes for survival.284 b) The dissent of the Indian Supreme Court cites a household survey that found the the effect of exclusion was particularly heightened for vulnerable populations like widows, the elderly, and manual workers.285 c) The dissent of the Indian Supreme Court cites a report of pension being denied to individuals suffering from leprosy, as the condition can damage fingerprints, creating barriers in biometric enrolment.286 283 Joseph N. Pato and Lynette I. Millett, eds., Biometric Recognition: Challenges & Opportunities (National Academy of Science USA, 2010), https://www.nap.edu/read/12720/chapter/1 284 Aadhaar Judgment, ¶ 246 of dissent (2018). 285 Jean Drèze, Nazar Khalid, Reetika Khera, and Anmol Somanchi, “Aadhaar and food security in Jharkhand: Pain without gain?,” Economic & Political Weekly, vol. 52 (16 December 2017). 286 Puja Awasthi, “Good enough to vote, not enough for Aadhaar,” People’s Archive for Rural India, https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/good-enough-to-vote-not-enough-for-aadhaar/ 66