New Delhi: The government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for PAN number today came under sharp attack in the Supreme Court, with the antagonists asserting the move would “dilute civil liberties and dominate citizens.”
Contending that an Aadhaar-like system has not been implemented in any country which calls itself democratic, the opponents also said a person can be tracked and remain under electronic survelliance throughout his life. They said the step was in “complete collision” with the norms laid down by its statutory arm UIDAI which clearly states that Aadhaar is “voluntary”.
Arguing that the enrollers of Aadhaar who are collecting data and biometrics from citizens were private parties and there was serious threat of misuse or leakage of data, senior advocate Shyam Divan said “there are cases where such information have been commercially sold. The law says life and body is paramount and if the finger prints of an individual are stolen, it might end his identity.”
“If we fail here, there is tremendous possibility that state will dilute civil liberties and dominate its citizens. The concept of civil liberties will go then,” he told a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan.
He said that the “creature” of the Aadhaar Act, that is the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which is responsible for its enrolment and authentication including operation and management, has repeatedly said that every citizen of India was entitled to obtain it “voluntarily”.
The counsel, who was representing two of the three petitioners who have challenged the government’s decision, told the court that Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had contended that Aadhaar was “mandatory”.
“Even today, UIDAI website says that every citizen is entitled to voluntarily obtaining Aadhaar. The authority, which is the creature of the Aadhaar Act, is saying it is voluntary,” senior advocate Shyam Divan told the Bench.
He argued there was a “complete collision” between Aadhaar Act and section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, which makes it mandatory.