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Aadhaar, in its current form, unconstitutional: Justice Chandrachud dissents with SC’s majority view

He added: “There is no institutional responsibility of UIDAI to protect data of citizens.”

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While the majority view of the SC bench held that Aadhaar had passed the constitutional test, Justice Chandrachud took a serious dissenting view, stating that in current form, Aadhaar cannot be held to be constitutional.

Bypassing the Rajya Sabha to pass the Aadhaar Act amounted to subterfuge and the law was liable to be struck down as being violative of Article 110 of the Constitution, he ruled.
Article 110 has specific grounds for Money Bill and the Aadhaar law went beyond this, Justice Chandrachud said, adding that in the current form, the Act cannot be held to be constitutional.
He observed that the enactment of the Act does not save the Centre's Aadhaar scheme.


Noting that mobile phone has become an important feature of life and its seeding with Aadhaar posed a grave threat to privacy, liberty, autonomy, he favoured deletion of consumers' Aadhaar data by the mobile service providers.

Maintaining that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act Rules proceeded on assumption that every bank account holder is a money launderer, he said the assumption that every individual who opens a bank account is a potential terrorist or a launderer is "draconian", he said.

Justice Chandrachud also said collection of data may lead to individual profiling of citizens.
He said the Aadhaar programme violated informational privacy, self-determination and data protection. It has been admitted by UIDAI that it stores vital data which is violative of right to privacy, he added.

This data was vulnerable to be misused by third party and private vendors, and that too, without the consent of an individual, Justice Chandrachud maintained and said the Aadhaar project has failed to remedy the flaws in its design, leading to exclusion.

Allowing private players to use Aadhaar will lead to profiling, which could be used to ascertain the political views of citizens, the judge, who pronounced his separate verdict, said.

He also held that denial of social welfare measures was violation of fundamental rights of citizens.

There is no institutional responsibility of the UIDAI to protect the data of citizens, he said, adding that there was absence of a regulatory mechanism to provide robust data protection.

However, he said it was now impossible to live in India without Aadhaar but it was violative of Article 14.
If Aadhaar is seeded with every database, then there is chance of infringement of right to privacy, he said.

Here are the highlights of the verdict: 

1. Aadhaar mandatory for filing of IT returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number, says SC

2. SC says not mandatory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts

3. Aadhaar not needed for mobile connections. Telecom service providers can't seek linking of Aadhaar, says SC

4. SC says nothing in Aadhaar Act that violates right to privacy of individual

5. SC upholds passing of Aadhaar Bill as Money Bill by Lok Sabha

6. SC says no child can be denied benefits of any schemes on not being able to bring their Aadhaar number

7. SC directs government not to give Aadhaar to illegal immigrants

8. CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory, also not compulsory for school admissions: SC

9. Aadhaar authentication data cannot be stored for more than six months: SC

10. SC Constitution Bench strikes down the National security exception under the Aadhaar Act

11. Section 57 of Aadhaar Act permitting private entities to avail Aadhaar data struck down

12. Robust data protection regime has to be brought in place as early as possible, says Justice Sikri in majority verdict

13. There is sufficient defence mechanism for authentication in Aadhaar scheme: Justice Sikri

14. The concept of human dignity has been enlarged in the judgement, says Justice Sikri

15. SC declares Aadhaar scheme as Constitutionally valid

16. There is no possibility of obtaining a duplicate Aadhaar card: Justice Sikri

17. It is better to be unique than being best; Aadhaar means Unique: SC

18. SC says there has been minimal demographic and biometric data collected by UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment

19. Attack on Aadhaar by petitioners is based on violation of rights, will lead to a surveillance State

20. Justice A K Sikri pronounces judgement on Aadhaar for himself, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar


21. Unique identification proof also empowers and gives identity to marginalised sections of society, says SC

 

The Supreme Court Wednesday declared the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid but struck down some of its provisions including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones and school admissions.
 

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that while Aadhaar would remain mandatory for filing of IT returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), it would not be mandatory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking of Aadhaar for mobile connections.

It would also not be mandatory for school admissions, as also for the examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical entrance and the University Grants Commission.

The bench also struck down the national security exception under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act.

It said Aadhaar is meant to help the benefits reach the marginalised sections of society and takes into account the dignity of people not only from personal but also community point of view.

The top court said Aadhaar is serving much bigger public interest. Aadhaar means unique and it is better to be unique than being best.

There are three sets of judgements being pronounced. The first of the three verdicts was pronounced by Justice A K Sikri who wrote the judgement for himself, CJI and Justice A M Khanwilkar. 

Justice Chandrachud and Justice A Bhushan, who are part of the bench, have written their individual opinions.

Justice Sikri struck down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act permitting private entities to avail Aadhaar data and ruled that Aadhaar authentication data cannot be stored for more than six months.

It directed the government not to give Aadhaar to illegal immigrants.

The apex court upheld passing of Aadhaar Bill as Money Bill by the Lok Sabha. The Congress party and its leader Jairam Ramesh had challenged the passage of the bill in the House.

It said there is nothing in the Aadhaar Act that violates right to privacy of an individual.

Justice Sikri said robust data protection regime has to be brought in place as early as possible.

He said the attack on Aadhaar by petitioners was based on violation of rights under the Constitution, which they felt will lead to a surveillance State.

Observing that there has been minimal demographic and biometric data collected by UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment, Justice Sikri said unique identification proof also empowered and gave identity to marginalised sections of society.

There is no possibility of obtaining a duplicate Aadhaar card, he said, adding there is sufficient defence mechanism for authentication in Aadhaar scheme.

The concept of human dignity has been enlarged in the judgement, he said.

The verdict was pronounced on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar scheme and its enabling 2016 law.

The bench had on May 10 reserved the verdict on the matter after a marathon hearing that went on for 38 days, spanning four-and-half months

 

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