New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, in an interim order, said the government cannot make Aadhaar numbers mandatory for availing the benefits of government services and subsidies, including the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for cooking gas.
add_main_imageThe move could potentially crimp the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) plans to use the direct transfer of benefits as a talking point in the upcoming general election; it had even coined a catchy slogan to do so—Apkaa paisa aapke haath (your money in your hands).
Launched on 1 January, the direct benefits transfer programme has expanded to 28 schemes in 121 districts.NextMAds
The court has also restrained the government from issuing Aadhaar numbers to illegal immigrants. The Aadhaar scheme was designed to provide every resident in India with a unique identity number and did not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens.
The interim order was passed by a two-judge bench, headed by justice B.S. Chauhan, that was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the issuance of Aadhaar numbers on grounds of invasion of privacy and right to life, according to advocate Anish Kumar Gupta who is representing the petitioners— former Karnataka high court judge K. S. Puttuswamy and advocate Parvesh Khanna.
While S. Sundareshan, mission director for DBT, declined comment, stating he was not authorized to speak on Aadhaar, a petroleum ministry official requesting anonymity said: “If there will be some problem, it will be taken up at the appropriate level for relief.” This person added that it was impossible to target cooking gas subsidies without Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.