Aadhar card not mandatory says Supreme Court
Posted on: 09/Oct/2013 2:09:35 PM
The Supreme Court on Tuesday passed its order while hearing a batch of petitions, including the one filed by social worker like Aruna Roy against the implementation of the Aadhar scheme or the "Unique Identification Number" System (UID), linking it to various social benefit schemes. The petitions came up before a bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and SA Bobde, which decided to club them with other applications, filed by the Centre and the three oil PSUs seeking modification of its earlier order that Aadhar card is not mandatory.
The petition also said the manner in which the biometric details of the citizens are collected by private contractors and NGOs hired by UIDAI without any safeguard makes it prone to misuse not only by private actors but also by the State.
The petitioners also claimed there is an empirical research to show that the biometric identification denoted for UID, namely the Iris Scan and fingerprint Identification, is faulty and capable of misuse.
The petition also said the scheme violates the fundamental rights of the citizens and the government is practically making it mandatory for seeking benefits under various welfare schemes such as PDS, MNERGA, pensions, scholarships, Janani Suraksha Yojana and LPG connections meant for economically weaker sections whose lives and livelihood depend on such schemes.
Those who do not manage to enroll are ultimately excluded and since it involves a dependency on machines, any technical failure would mean delay with no alternative, it said.
It also said it violates the right of equality before the law and protection of life and personal liberty as by linking UID with other social welfare benefit schemes, persons who are currently benefiting under such existing welfare schemes, run the risk of being arbitrarily excluded.
"...Such, high-handed and casual action of the State, wherein its citizenry is deprived of their fundamental rights, stands in violation of the Constitution - both in letter and in spirit. There is no justification for the casual implementation of such a scheme without providing adequate legislative safeguards."
The petitions were filed after the Supreme Court ruled that the Aadhar card, being issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI, was not mandatory for availing any government services and nobody should be deprived of any such facilities for want of the card.
It had asked the Centre not to issue it to illegal immigrants as it would legitimize their stay.
