New Petition In SC Challenging The 'Vires' Of Aadhaar Act And Compulsory Linkage Of Aadhaar For Welfare Schemes [Read Petition]

A new writ petition has been filed before the Supreme Court by Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Shanta Sinha and feminist researcher Kalyani Sen Menon challenging the vires of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.Petitioners also challenge the Notifications issued under Section 7 of the impugned Act, by various Ministries, making possession of Aadhaar number as a mandatory pre-condition for availing 17 social benefits schemes like Midday meal, Disability pension etc.The Petition filed through Advocate Vipin Nair is listed for hearing tomorrow, before the bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan will appear for the petitioners.According to the petitioners the UIDAI platform, i.e. the Aadhaar database is being utilised to effect each and every aspect of an individual’s life—from holding a valid PAN card, filing income tax returns, maintaining a bank account, getting scholarship, giving examination, admission in colleges, domestic air travel, having a mobile connection etc.Petitioners submitted that that the Government departments have given a deadline of 30thJune 2017 under most of the Notifications issued under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, for an individual to obtain an Aadhaar number in order to continue receiving benefits under government schemes. Accordingly, from 1st July 2017 an individual who is not willing to part with his personal biometric information will be denied social benefits, which he/she is otherwise entitled to, on the sole basis of non-production of an Aadhaar number.The Petitioners challenge the vires of the Act on the following main grounds; IMPUGNED ACT CANNOT BE CATEGORIZED AS A MONEY BILL.There are several other patent flaws with respect to the impugned Act and the Aadhaar project. One of the most striking illegalities is the manner in which the impugned Act came to be passed as a Money Bill without having to secure passage through the Rajya Sabha. The impugned Act cannot in law be characterized as a Money Bill and the impugned Act is stillborn inasmuch as the mandatory legislative process has not been followed. At the time when the Bill was passed on 11.03.2016 by the Lok Sabha the attendance was merely 73 persons out of a Lok Sabha House strength of 543 members. Moreover, when the Rajya Sabha returned the Bill with suggestions/amendments, these came to be considered by the Lok Sabha on 16.03.2016 when none of the amendments /suggestions were accepted.Apart from there being no adequate debate or discussion despite the serious and severe impact of the Bill on civil liberties; the illegalities that renders the Act unconstitutional and ultra vires is its mischaracterization as a Money Bill and the failure to adhere to the constitutional legislative process. IMPUGNED ACT IS CONTRARY TO THE CONCEPT OF ‘LIMITED GOVERNMENT’The Constitution of India like other constitutions that set out the basic law for democratic governance, employs an array of checks and balances to ensure open, accountable government where each wing of the government performs its actions for the benefit of the people and within its sphere of responsibility. The checks and balances are many and amongst them are the respective roles assigned by the Constitution to the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Under India’s federal structure, with a distribution of legislative authority between the Union government and the States, the fields of legislation and corresponding executive authority are also distributed between the Union and the States. Provisions in the Constitution such as the fundamental rights chapter (Part III) and the chapter relating to inter-state trade (Part XIII) also circumscribe the authority of the State. These limitations on the power of the State support the notion of ‘limited government’. In this sense, the expression ‘limited government’ would mean that each wing of government is restricted by provisions of the Constitution and other laws and is required to operate within its legitimate sphere. Exceeding these limits would render the action of the State ultra vires the Constitution or a particular law.The concept of ‘limited government’ may also be understood in a much broader and different sense. This notion of a limited government is qua the citizenry as a whole. There are certain things that the State simply cannot do, because the action fundamentally alters the relationship between the citizen and the State. The wholesale collection of biometric data including finger prints and storing it at a central depository per se puts the State in an extremely dominant position in relation to the individual citizen. Biometric data belongs to the concerned individual and the State cannot collect or retain it to be used against the individual or to his or her prejudice in the future. Further the State cannot put itself in a position where it can track an individual and engage in surveillance. The State cannot...

New Petition In SC Challenging The 'Vires' Of Aadhaar Act And Compulsory Linkage Of Aadhaar For Welfare Schemes [Read Petition]

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