Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 26: The Supreme Court has on Wednesday upheld in a landmark judgement the constitutional validity of the central government’s flagship Aadhaar scheme. But it has struck down section-57 of the Aadhaar Act that allows private entities to demand the 12-digit unique identification number for verification purposes.
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A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra passed the verdict on a clutch of petitions that challenged the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, alleging that it violates citizens' privacy. The apex court reserved its verdict in the case on May 10 this year after a marathon hearing spanning more than four months.
The SC’s final judgement said that private entities like telecom operators, banks, digital wallets, and educational institutions cannot demand Aadhaar card from consumers for identification purpose. It has also ordered the telecom operators to erase Aadhaar numbers of the subscribers from its database. However, Aadhaar card is still mandatory for allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), filing of income tax returns, and availing government schemes.
Following the new SC ruling, telecom operators like Airtel, Jio, Vodafone, and BSNL can’t haunt its customers to link their Aadhaar card to their phone numbers to avail services or demand the unique identification number while buying SIM card. It is also not mandatory for admission in schools and for popular examinations conducted by University Grants Commission (UGC), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical entrance and Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE).
"Aadhaar for school education would not be necessary because it is neither welfare nor subsidy," the court said, holding that Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan does not require Aadhaar, according to IANS.
The apex court also struck down the national security exception under the Aadhaar Act (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services), saying that the scheme “was meant to help benefits reach marginalised sections and it took into account the dignity of people not only from the personal but also the community point of view,” according to IANS.
"No person will be denied benefits under social welfare scheme because of failure of authentication through Aadhaar," the court said. "We direct the government to ensure that illegal migrants are not issued Aadhaar to get benefits of social welfare schemes."
However, the court approved the passage of Aadhaar law as money bill in a majority ruling by Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Ashok Bhushan, Misra and Sikri, though Justice D.Y. Chandrachud termed it as a “fraud on the Constitution” alleging “risk of surveillance of people on the basis of data collected under Aadhaar scheme and that the data could be misused.”
The judgement also said that "Minimal demographic and biometric data of citizens are collected by UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment. We are of the view that there are sufficient safeguard to protect data collected under Aadhaar scheme."
• Telecom operators can’t ask for Aadhaar details when buying new SIM card
• Telecom service providers can’t ask you to link phone number to your Aadhaar card
• Digital wallets like Paytm can’t demand customers to provide Aadhaar details
• Banks can’t ask for your Aadhaar details when opening a new account
• Schools and educational institutions can’t demand Aadhaar card for admissions
• Aadhaar number not needed to appear for UGC, NEET, CBSE examinations
• Need to link Aadhaar number to PAN card to filing Income Tax Returns
• Need Aadhaar card to avail government welfare schemes and subsidies
