Aadhaar voluntary, cannot link govt services to it: SC raps Centre

While states have been linking multiple government services like admissions and gas connections to the Aadhaar number, the Supreme Court today said that the registration for the identity card was purely voluntary and government departments could not demand the card in order to provide a service. The apex court’s directions came in response to a PIL filed by a former judge questioning the legal sanctity of the Aadhaar card. The apex court told the Centre not to make the Unique Identification Card mandatory in order to provide the benefit of government schemes. The court said that the identification card could not be mandatory for states to provide services either , reported CNN-IBN. [caption id=“attachment_1127759” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Not compulsory any more. AFP[/caption] The Supreme Court also told the Centre not to issue the identification cards to illegal immigrants in in the country, reported CNN-IBN.  A retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, KS Puttaswamy, had filed a PIL alleging that the government is bypassing Parliament by going ahead with the distribution of UID numbers and cards to all residents. The PIL alleged that through the Aadhaar scheme, even non-citizens are likely to be given benefits such as cash transfer and illegal migrants residing in India are likely to be legitimised, thereby jeopardising the security of the nation. Multiple government departments, despite the UID scheme being voluntary, have been insisting on Aadhaar cards for various government welfare schemes and other services. As Firstpost’s R Jagannathan had noted in an earlier piece, the rush to enrol people through the UID scheme may stem from the fact that the UPA government is hoping for the widest possible implementation of the direct cash transfer scheme for subsidied before the next elections. He noted: While the political advantages of giving money to voters in the name of economic efficiency is understandable, the UPA has completely lost sight of one simple thing: there is currently no legislation in place to make the Aadhaar scheme’s collection of private biometric data legal; even though the scheme is being promoted through administrative fiat, the fact that so much personal data will be obtained using private agents is giving privacy advocates sleepless nights.  While the process of enrolling people for the Aadhaar scheme will not stop because of the Supreme Court’s judgement it may stop government units forcing people to get a UID card. While there are obvious benefits to having a Unique Identification card for every citizen, addressing the concerns surrounding the scheme wouldn’t hurt.