In a landmark judgement, the Supreme court on Wednesday ruled that the aadhaar or much talked about unique identification number is not mandatory for opening banks accounts.
The Unique Identity Number is a 12-digit personal identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India. The top court said that the intention of the Aadhaar project was for the benefit of the common Indian citizen in the form of welfare schemes and that it could not be made compulsory for services such as bank accounts, mobile connections or school admissions.
The verdict was announced by a five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan.
The SC further rules that although the compulsory linkage of aadhaar to the above services was not required the linkage between the Permanent Account number or PAN and aadhaar would still continue to be compulsory.
The PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number issued to by the Income Tax Department. The above judgement has come as a breather for alot of people who have been suspicious of the security and safety of the unique no.
In the recent past the aadhaar scheme has come under the scanner for various instances of breach and cheating especially at the hands of scamsters who easily procurred personal data with the help of the aadhaar no. Several petitions had been filed in court challenging the system on grounds of violation of privacy.
Live updates:
- It is a historic order, #Aadhaar’s concept has been accepted after judicial review, we welcome this decision of Supreme Court: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (ANI)
- I am very happy with the judgement. It is a landmark and remarkable judgement: Attorney general KK Venugopal to ANI on #AadhaarVerdict
- I think on the whole it is a good judgement. Though personally, I am happy with Justice Chandrachud’s judgement striking it down on the ground that it bothers right to privacy: Former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee on #Aadhaar verdict (ANI)
- Aadhaar mandatory for PAN linking; not compulsory for UGC, NEET & CBSE exams & school admissions. Aadhaar not needed for opening a bank a/c, no mobile company can demand Aadhaar, private companies can’t seek Aadhaar data (ANI)