CONTENTIOUS ISSUES IN THE CASE

Here are the four major things to look out for in the SC verdict today:

PHONE NUMBERS, BANK ACCOUNTS

The National Democratic Alliance government has been pushing to link the Aadhaar number with phone numbers, bank accounts, PAN cards and other services ranging from school admission forms to pension benefits. The apex court will decide if it's permissible to use the 12-digit biometric ID for these purposes

RIGHT TO PRIVACY

Critics argue that by collecting demographic and biometric data, Aadhaar encroaches on the citizens’ right to privacy, declared as a fundamental right by the SC in 2017. Numerous databases have been seeded with Aadhaar, which critics say can be used for profiling and surveillance, a charge the government denies

MONEY BILL IN PARLIAMENT

On March 11, 2016, the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar act as a “money bill”, which meant that it only needed to pass in the LS (where the government has a clear majority) and not the Rajya Sabha (where the government doesn’t have a clear majority). The SC will decide if the Aadhaar act can be passed as a money bill

WELFARE SCHEMES

The government had attempted to make Aadhaar compulsory for availing benefits and subsidies, but critics claim many people from the poorest sections have been denied welfare for not being able to produce an Aadhaar card or due to Aadhaar-related authentication failures