New Delhi: The Supreme Court will decide today, Wednesday, October 7, if Aadhar cards can be treated as a document to avail various private facilities – such as mobile connections and bank accounts.
The government’s ambitious unique identity or UID programme has been challenged in court over privacy concerns since it uses biometric data like fingerprint and iris scans.
The top court has already ruled that the Aadhar card can be used only for availing subsidies under the public distribution system and purchasing kerosene and cooking gas and that, too, voluntarily.
The court has also referred a related debate over whether privacy is a fundamental right to a constitution bench.
After a slew of blows to the UID scheme, the Centre, Reserve Bank of India, stock market watchdog SEBI, telecom regulator TRAI, and a number of states moved the Supreme Court for extending the voluntary use of Aadhar card to other services.
In a two-hour-long hearing on Tuesday, high drama unfolded in the court with heated exchanges between Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Centre, challenged by lawyer Shyam Diwan.
Petitioners opposing the Aadhar card argued that since there was no law on forsaking privacy of citizens and the debate had been referred to a larger panel, this bench of three judges should not hear it.
TRAI asserted that since the mandatory use of the Aadhar card had been stopped by the Supreme Court, it was now “easy” for terrorists to get mobile connections. Once the hearing concluded, the Court said it will pass orders at 3:30 pm on Wednesday.
