Supreme Court of India Asks -Why Are States Still Insisting on Aadhar Card? Tuesday July 21,2015

 

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday July 21,2015 took exception to the fact that despite its ruling that governments should not insist on the possession of Aadhaar card for the disbursal of benefits under the social welfare schemes, there were states that were flouting its order.

A Bench of Justice J Chelameswar, Justice S A Bobde and Justice C Nagappan expressed its concern over states acting in breach of its interim order passed in September 2013 and reiterated in March 2015 in this regard.

The SC is hearing a batch of petitions including one by Karnataka High Court's Justice (Retd.) KS Puttaswamy who had moved the court in 2012, contending that the entire Aadhaar scheme was unconstitutional as the biometric data collected under it was an incursion and transgression of individual privacy.

The central government on Tuesday July 21,2015 told the court that it was difficult to roll back the scheme which was integral to government's efforts to eradicate poverty as it sought the hearing of challenge to the Aadhaar scheme by a constitution bench of five judges.

Note
In its September 23, 2013 order, the SC said:
"No person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card inspite of the fact that some authority had issued a circular making it mandatory and when any person applies to get the Aadhaar card voluntarily, it may be checked whether that person is entitled for it under the law and it should not be given to any illegal immigrant."