R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, October 7
The Supreme Court restrictions on
Aadhaar will continue as a three-member Bench today refused to go into the
pleas by the Centre and its agencies for allowing voluntary use of the
identification card for implementing welfare schemes other than public
distribution system (PDS) and cooking gas (LPG) subsidy.
The Bench headed by Justice J
Chelameswar had passed an interim order on August 11, 2015 on a batch of PILs
against Aadhaar, restraining the use of the card to PDS and LPG. Subsequently,
the Centre and the regulators for banking, insurance, stock market and telecom
approached the SC seeking relaxation for effective implementation of all the
schemes for the poor and the middle class.
Aadhaar would also help deal with
black money and terrorism, while its non-use had stalled the implementation of
schemes such as jobs under MNREGA, zero-balance banking facility under the Jan
Dhan Yojana and for payment of pension at doorstep, they pleaded.
After hearing their arguments the
entire day yesterday, the Bench had reserved its order for today.
In its brief order today, the Bench
said it would be better if the pleas for easing the curbs were decided by a
Constitution Bench as the PILs had already been referred to such a Bench
comprising at least five judges for deciding the larger question of alleged
intrusion into people’s right to privacy under the Aadhaar scheme by forcing
them to part with their fingerprints and iris images.
The apex court has already clarified
that the government and its agencies should not deny any service, document or
subsidy to anyone for non-possession of the Aadhaar card.
But the Centre, some states and
statutory bodies such as Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (IRDA), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI),
Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) and the pension fund regulator sought
clarification from the SC that its restraint order did not prevent them from
using Aadhaar on request from their clients who wanted to prevent pilferage and
diversion of the benefits meant for them to others with similar names.
The Bench, which included Justice SA
Bobde and Justice C Nagappan, however, said: “We are of the opinion that it
would be better all the interlocutory applications (for easing the curbs) are
also heard by the larger Bench.”
TRAI pleaded that Aadhaar was
necessary to avoid issue of SIM cards to terrorists, while RBI contended that
money laundering could be prevented by making use of the unique identification
number on the card, issued to over 96 crore people so far.
Attorney
General Mukul Rohatgi had contended that the PIL petitioners could not deny
poor people their right to part with their biometrics to avail of benefits
under the welfare schemes.
