SC to hear plea challenging Aadhaar notices on May 17

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on May 17 a plea challenging various government notifications to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of government schemes. A five-judge division bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, agreed to the contention of senior advocate Shyam Divan that the Aadhaar matter is very important and needs to be heard on an urgent basis.

The din against the mandatory use of Aadhaar increases in certain sections of society as yet another petition drawn by advocates Udayaditya Banerjee and Samiksha Godiyal challenge the provisions of the act in its current avatar.

In the petition, Shanta Sinha and one Kalyani Sen Menon contended that the act violates their fundamental right to self-determination, among others. "There are certain things the government simply cannot do because it fundamentally alters the relationship between the citizen and the state. The wholesale collection of biometric data, including fingerprints and storing it at a central depository per se, puts the state in a dominant position in relation to the individual citizen," the petition read.

The petitioners stated that the Centre, by issuing a notification through its various ministries and making enrollment for Aadhaar compulsory, has flouted various interim orders.