Mandatory Aadhaar for PAN card: Debate on

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was “alive” to its earlier orders, which had held that Aadhaar should be “voluntary”.

“We are alive to the orders passed by this court which says it should be voluntary,” a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said.

The apex court made these observations while hearing the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of section 139AA of the Income Tax (IT) Act, which was introduced through the latest Budget and the Finance Act, 2017.

Section 139AA of the IT Act provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making application for allotment of PAN number with effect from July 1 this year.

Senior Counsel Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners, argued that section 139AA was unconstitutional and it was in “direct collision” with the Aadhaar Act.

“The entire Aadhaar Act is voluntary. It creates a right in favour of citizens. It does not create a duty. The act is entirely voluntary. How can they make it mandatory under the Income Tax Act? The scheme under the Aadhaar Act is in direct collision with the provision of section 139AA,” he said.

He also argued that there was no question of forcing a person to give his consent for Aadhaar and this was an issue which “alters the relationship of Republic of India with its citizens”.

However, the Bench observed, “We have to interpret a statute according to the objective with which it has been framed.”

Referring to the earlier orders passed by the apex court, Divan said a five-judge bench had in October 2015 said the Aadhaar card scheme was voluntary and not mandatory till the matter was finally decided by the apex court.

He said in that order, the court had also said a larger Bench was required to be set up for final disposal of the petitions but it has not been constituted till now.