The Supreme Court declined to immediately modify its order for the wider use of Aadhaar card as proof of identity by mobile companies, banks and the stock markets. Instead, the government’s plea was referred to a larger bench that will initiate the further proceedings.
Several petitions had been filed challenging the use of the Aadhaar card and the Apex court had aversely permitted the government to use it to distribute subsidies for food grains, cooking gas and kerosene. A bench had initially directed the government not to be adamant on Aadhaar and refuse social welfare benefits to the weaker sections for the lack of Aadhaar card.
Since then, the government pleaded the court to allow its use for cooking gas, kerosene and PDS subsidies. The govt. also made a representation to allow the use of Aadhaar by mobile companies, banks and stock exchanges.
The three-judge bench rejected this plea and referred it to a larger bench. It is expected that a fresh hearing on the plea to increase the use of Aadhaar may take time, till the govt. requests theCJI to constitute a larger bench immediately. The govt. is bent upon to curb black money and other financial irregularities, and these could be tracked only with the use of Aadhaar card.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had ruled out the possibility of leakage of confidential information to foreign agencies contracted by the UID of India to gather such biometric data.
