Aadhaar case: Apex Court to set up five-judge Constitution bench to hear pleas
Centre’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing various services and government welfare schemes will be challenges by a Constitution bench, the Supreme Court said on Monday. A five-judge Constitution bench will be set up to continue hearing in the Aadhaar case, the Supreme Court said on Monday. Beginning from the last week of November, the Constitution bench will hear a clutch of petitions challenging the government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory to avail welfare scheme benefits. Meanwhile, the Centre filed an affidavit in the court defending Aadhaar and rubbishing charges against it. An apex court bench hearing the petition said, “In a federal structure, how can a state file plea challenging Parliament’s mandate? We know it is a matter which needs consideration but you satisfy us how a state can challenge it?” Recently, a nine-judge Constitution bench had held that the Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had raised the issue that the scheme was violative of privacy rights. The Centre had on October 25 told the apex court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of the government schemes had been extended till March 31 next year for those who did not have the 12-digit biometric identification number and were willing to have it. The petitioners had termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as illegal and unconstitutional and strongly objected to the CBSE’s move to make it mandatory for students to appear for exams. -PTC News
