Denial of sops not enough to veto Aadhaar

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that issues such as denial of benefits to citizens for either want of Aadhaar or due to its non-authentication may not be a ground for holding the law as "unconstitutional".

The court made the observation while declining to pass any interim order on a plea of the West Bengal government that citizens should not be excluded and denied social benefits for want of Aadhaar or due to its non-authentication.

"These kinds of problems may not be a ground for holding a statute unconstitutional," a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said. The bench asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal to continue advancing his arguments on the aspect of exclusion of citizens and made it clear that it would not pass any interim order.

Sibal, referring to a news report, said that some persons have been denied old-age pension on account of Aadhaar and sought an interim order so that nobody is excluded. Attorney General K K Vengopal and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehra, appearing for the Centre and the UIDAI respectively, opposed the submission of Sibal that people are being denied the benefits for want of Aadhaar or its non-authentication.

"If biometrics and iris scans fail, you are entitled to produce any alternative ID," Venugopal said, adding that there was no question of any exclusion. The attorney general said that a person, who does not have Aadhaar, can seek benefits on the ground that he or she has enrolled for it.

There was a difference between getting enrolled and having to authenticate each time, Sibal said. The bench said the exclusion may be because of the infrastructure problems and the government may upgrade the system.

On the issue of Aadhaar being used as an identity card, Sibal said, "Passport, PAN card, driving licence and water, telephone and electricity bills are acceptable by authorities as identity cards. Then what is the intent behind compelling the citizens to go for Aadhaar"?