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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Aadhaar case: Supreme Court begins hearing arguments
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Aadhaar case: Supreme Court begins hearing arguments

Court says it is yet to decide on constituting a 9 or 11 judge bench to hear the privacy issue

The next date of hearing is 15 October. Photo: MintPremium
The next date of hearing is 15 October. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by chief justice H.L. Dattu began hearing arguments in the Aadhaar case on Wednesday.

Two separate references were made to a constitution bench in the case—one seeking modification and clarification of the court’s interim order on 11 August, and the other on potential violation of privacy.

The references were made on 7 October by a three-judge bench comprising justices J. Chelameswar, S.A. Bobde and C. Nagappan after it declined to modify the interim order.

The court’s interim ruling on 11 August restricted the use of Aadhaar numbers for identifying beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) and kerosene and cooking gas subsidies.

However, the present strength of constitution bench is insufficient to hear the reference on Aadhaar’s potential violation of privacy, Mint reported on 9 October.

The bench confirmed this view and stated that only arguments on the modification of interim order will be heard. “We are yet to decide on constituting a 9 or 11 judge bench to hear the privacy issue," the bench said on Wednesday.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court there is no reason why the unique identification number cannot be used for other government schemes when the court has allowed it for subsidised food and fuel distribution. “Distribution of pension by central and state governments for retired army officers, widows, disabled persons are also as important as essential food and fuel distribution," he said. He also assured the court that its use shall remain voluntary.

Apart from the Union government, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority(IRDA) were also given a hearing by the court.

UIDAI is seeking clearance to include use of Aadhaar number for schemes such as biometric attendance system, Jan Dhan Yojana, digital certificates and pension payments, based on prior consent from the Aadhaar holders.

RBI and Trai have sought approval on whether banks can use customers’ Aadhaar numbers as an acceptable form of identity proof while Sebi and IRDA have asked the court to allow them to use biometric data to identify beneficiaries.

Senior counsel Jayant Bhushan who represented RBI said that a person cannot be disallowed from opening a bank account because Aadhaar number is his only proof of identity. “Voluntary use of Aadhaar will only help in efficiency of services. What is the point of financial inclusion if services cannot be offered easily to those in need?" he asked the court.

As of 12 August, 72.7 million accounts were seeded with Aadhaar out of total 175.7 million accounts opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana scheme. The court’s 11 August order has affected further seeding of bank accounts with Aadhaar.

As of now, 920 million Indian citizens have been allotted Aadhaar numbers. The next date of hearing is 15 October.

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Published: 14 Oct 2015, 11:04 PM IST
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