SC declares Aadhaar as Constitutionally valid

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday declared the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme as Constitutionally valid and said that it empowers the marginalised sections of the society.

The apex court's five-judge Constitution bench said Aadhaar means unique and it is better to be unique than being best.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Aadhaar card is not needed for school admissions and mobile phone connections, neither it is mandatory for opening of bank account. The Aadhaar number will not be mandatory for UGC, NEET and CBSE Exams. Also, Aadhaar will not be mandatory for obtaining a new SIM card.

However, it said that Aadhaar is mandatory for PAN linking. The court also asserted that Aadhar card will not be provided to illegal migrants.

Justice Chandrachud said, "Aadhaar violates the right to privacy as it could possibly lead to profiling of persons and voters."

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Justice Sikri pronounced the judgement for himself, Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar.

The apex court made this observations while pronouncing of the verdict by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

Justice A K Sikri was pronouncing the judgement on Aadhaar for himself, the CJI and Justice A M Khanwilkar.

The bench said attack on Aadhaar by petitioners is based on violation of rights under the Constitution, will lead to a surveillance State.

It said there has been minimal demographic and biometric data collected by UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment.