Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory by government for welfare schemes, says SC

With Aadhaar becoming a common requisite for signing up for a number of services and schemes, the Supreme Court today said that the same cannot be made mandatory for government schemes.

At the same time, the Court also said that government cannot be stopped from making Aadhaar proof mandatory in non-government related schemes like opening bank accounts.

According to NDTV, Chief Justice of India JS Khehar told the court that Aadhaar can’t be mandatory for social welfare schemes, however, the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar for documentation purposes such as filing Income Tax returns.

It added that a seven bench panel has to be set up for the sole purpose of hearing petitions related to Aadhaar, but for now the same is not possible.

Several welfare schemes funded from the Consolidated Fund of India use Aadhaar identification for transparent delivery. While the schemes require the beneficiaries to provide their Aadhaar numbers if they have one, it has been ensured that no one will be deprived of benefits for the lack of an Aadhaar card.

For example, for the Mid Day Meal Program under the Integrated Child Development Scheme requires schools and Aanganwadis to submit the Aadhaar numbers of the children who benefit from the scheme. If a child does not yet have an Aadhaar number, the schools and Aanganwadis have been instructed to help the children registered with an Aadhaar ID. Till the time the registration occurs, the benefits from the Mid Day Meal Program have been ordered to continue.