5-judge Constitution Bench to hear petitions against Aadhaar tomorrow

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 13

A five-judge Constitution Bench will assemble on Thursday to take up petitions challenging the validity of Aadhaar law and government’s notifications making the 12-digit unique biometric identification number mandatory for various services and schemes.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said the Constitution Bench would commence hearing at 2 pm and focus on applications seeking interim relief against the Centre’s decision to make it mandatory to link Aadhaar with various services and schemes.

The Centre had on December 7 told the top court that the deadline for making Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of more than 130 schemes, including linking of bank accounts with the 12-digit unique biometric identification number, will be extended till March 31 next year.

On Wednesday, the Government issued a notification was extending the current deadline of December 31 to March 31. Those opening new banks accounts will have to submit their Aadhaar number to banks within six months, it added.

However, the deadline for mobile phone number-Aadhaar linking will remain February 6, 2018, as ordered by the top court in a PIL that dealt with national security issue.

A nine-judge Constitution Bench had on August 24 declared right to privacy a fundamental right and had said individual cases challenging the Aadhaar Act would be decided separately by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

While petitioners want the top court to suspend implementation of Aadhaar Act and linking it with various services and schemes, the Centre has opposed it. "There cannot be a stay on the Aadhaar scheme, which has gone on for years," Attorney General KK Venugopal had earlier said.

Venugopal had informed the court that a Data Protection Committee headed by former SC Judge BN Srikrishna was likely to submit its final report to the government by February next year.

The Supreme Court had on November 3 asked banks and mobile telecom service providers to inform their customers about the last date for linking of accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar.

A Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri had, however, refused to stay such linking, noting that all Aadhaar-related matters had already been sent to a Consitution Bench which would assemble much before the deadlines for Aadhaar-linking for bank accounts and mobile phones.

The Government had on October 25 told the court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to receive benefits of government schemes has been extended till March 31, 2018 for those who did not have the unique identification number but were willing to enrol for it.

Venugopal had submitted no coercive action would be taken against those who did not have Aadhaar but are willing to enrol for. Such people would not be denied benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31, he had said.