{"id":34267,"date":"2018-10-30T16:39:50","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=34267"},"modified":"2018-10-30T16:39:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:09:50","slug":"five-judge-statute-bench-to-decide-on-aadhaar-validity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/five-judge-statute-bench-to-decide-on-aadhaar-validity\/","title":{"rendered":"Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity:"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/todays-paper\/five-judge-statute-bench-to-decide-on-aadhaar-validity\/article19953019.ece\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Context<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has decided<\/span><b> to constitute a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear petitions from November against the validity of the Aadhaar scheme.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A separate Bench of Justices have issued n<\/span><b>otice to the government on a petition filed by advocate Raghav Tankha, challenging the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with mobile numbers.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the concern?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The concern is that the <\/span><b>linkage orchestrated by the Union of India <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in arrangement with private telecom service providers is in <\/span><b>violation of the fundamental right to privacy.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Setting up of a constitution bench<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Constitution Bench may be set up to decide, once and for all, the various Aadhaar challenges pending before the court since 2014 instead of passing any temporary orders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government <\/span><b>decided to extend the time<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during an u<\/span><b>rgent mentioning in the Supreme Court by petitioners <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who have challenged both the validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the law passed subsequently in 2016.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decision to set up a five-judge Bench comes despite Justice Rohinton Nariman\u2019s separate judgment in the nine-judge Bench declaring privacy as a fundamental right.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Nariman\u2019s judgment had directed the Aadhaar petitions to be posted for hearing before the \u2018<\/span><b>original\u2019 three-judge Bench.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This \u2018original\u2019 Bench had referred the petitions for hearing before a five-judge Bench, which found it <\/span><b>necessary to first decide whether privacy was a fundamental right or not before hearing the Aadhaar petitions.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What are the various features of Right to Privacy?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Privacy is a constitutionally protected right emerging primarily from the guarantee of life and liberty in <\/span><b>Article 21 of the Constitution.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It includes the pr<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eservation of personal intimacies, sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Privacy connotes <\/span><b>a right to be left alone.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It safeguards individual autonomy and recognizes one\u2019s ability to control vital aspects of his\/her life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Privacy is not an absolute right,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but any invasion must be based on legality, need and proportionality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Informational privacy is a facet of this right. Dangers to this can originate from<\/span><b> both state and non-state actors.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Implications on Aadhaar:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aadhar initiative requires collection of p<\/span><b>ersonal data from residents of India,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and this has resulted in controversy regarding its potential to be missed. This is so because:<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It requires col<\/span><b>lection of biometric details like scanning and finger prints <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which are essentially crucial details and could be misused.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cyber space is a vulnerable space and is prone to threat.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cyber security architecture is not very strong in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aadhaar lacks statutory back up and is also running on an executive order, which has also raised questions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SC ruling will impact daily lives of the people since it has implications for matters ranging from collection and sharing of personal data to the government\u2019s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for benefits of social welfare scheme.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is Aadhaar?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Aadhaar is the <\/span><b>name of the Unique Identification Number<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues to every resident of India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span>twelve digit number which is linked the resident\u2019s demographic and biometric information<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The data is collected by the <\/span>Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in January 2009 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Petitioners have challenged the Aadhaar scheme on the following grounds:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expressing the fear that the data being collected by private agencies may be misused.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Questioning the proposal to link Aadhaar with PAN cards and phone number.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making the unique ID number mandatory for availing government benefit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The petitioners are challenging the nature of information collected, which includes biometrics and its alleged unlimited use by government agencies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the need of Aadhaar?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Aadhaar Project is an attempt <\/span><b>to aid in real time verification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The objective of the scheme is to issue a unique identification number which can be <\/span><b>authenticated and verified online<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A large part of the Indian population had no IDs or relied on IDs like ration cards and Voter Cards.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This necessitated the need for a single digital ID which could be verified anytime, anywhere in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Aadhaar would also <\/span><b>facilitate the access to host of governmental benefits and services<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the <\/span><b>effective enforcement of individual rights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it became necessary to have a unique identification number.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A clear registration and recognition of the individual identity with the state is necessary<\/span> to i<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mplement their rights, to employment, education, food etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aadhaar project has been linked to some public subsidy and unemployment benefit schemes like the domestic LPG scheme and MGNREGS. In these Direct Benefit Transfer schemes, the subsidy money is directly transferred to a bank account which is Aadhaar-linked.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On 29 July 2011, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas signed a memorandum of understanding with UIDAI. The Ministry had hoped the ID system would help them eliminate loss of the subsidised kerosene and LPG. In May 2012, the government announced that it will begin issuing Aadhaar-linked MGNREGS cards On 26 November 2012, a pilot project was launched in 51 district.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is needed to be done in context of Right to Privacy and Aadhaar?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In view of the increased security required specifically for territorial privacy and data privacy, there should be a provision added to the Constitution of India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A provision that deals with multiple dimensions of privacy such as personal, territorial, communication and data\/information.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such a provision would bring clarity as to the extent of the right to privacy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a dire need for a comprehensive privacy legislation which would ensure the protection of personal and sensitive data of people.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also the need for an established regulatory body.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This could be structured along similar lines as that of the data protection commissioner offices, which exist in Canada, Ireland.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity: Context The Supreme Court has decided to constitute a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear petitions from November against the validity of the Aadhaar scheme. A separate Bench of Justices have issued notice to the government on a petition filed by advocate Raghav Tankha, challenging the mandatory linking&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/five-judge-statute-bench-to-decide-on-aadhaar-validity\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity:<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704705512},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}