Aadhaar Gets Thumbs Up From Supreme Court

• Majority opinion upholds it as a reasonable restriction on privacy
• Says it fulfils governments aim to provide dignity to marginalised
• Its a unique ID that cannot be duplicated unlike PAN, rationcard
• Upholds the passage of the Aadhaar Act as a MoneyBill

- Krishnadas Rajagopal

The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion on Wednesday, upheld Aadhaar as a reasonable restriction on individual privacy that fulfils the government’s “legitimate aim” to provide dignity to a large, marginalised population living in abject poverty.

“The Constitution does not exist for a few or minority of the people of India, but ‘We the People’,” the court observed.

The majority view by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.K. Sikri and A.M. Khanwilkar declared Aadhaar a “document of empowerment.” An “unparalleled” identity proof. A document that cannot be duplicated unlike PAN, ration card, and passport.

“It is better to be unique than the best. The best makes you number one, but unique makes you the only one,” Justice Sikri, who authored the majority opinion, wrote.

‘Widely accepted’

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud wrote a sharp dissent, declaring Aadhaar unconstitutional. Justice Ashok Bhushan, in a separate opinion, concurred with the majority view, saying Aadhaar had been widely accepted. The three opinions of the Constitution Bench span 1,448 pages.

Justice Sikri said technology had become a vital tool for ensuring good governance in a social welfare state. Schemes such as the PDS, scholarships, mid­day meals and LPG subsidies involve a huge amount of money, and “foolproof” Aadhaar helped welfare reach the poor.