Linking Aadhaar With Bank Accounts, SIM Cards Not Mandatory: SC

The Supreme Court today has upheld the validity of Aadhaar in its verdict today but with certain important conditions.

Here are the highlights of the verdict from the apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra:

• Aadhaar linking with bank accounts not compulsory.
• Aadhaar is not mandatory for the purchase of a SIM Card. The notification by the Department of Telecommunication on linking SIM cards with Aadhaar has been held unconstitutional.
• Linking Aadhaar to PAN is still required.
• Educational boards like CBSE and UGC cannot ask for Aadhaar mandatorily.
• School admissions do not require Aadhaar, as children cannot be denied benefits for lack of the 12-digit ID proof.
• The portion of Section 57 that enables corporates to seek Aadhaar for authentication was held to be unconstitutional. No private organisation can demand Aadhaar.
• Records of Aadhaar authentication cannot be held for more than 6 months. Metadata cannot be stored in current form.
• The court upholds passing Aadhaar as a money bill.
• Individuals can approach the court to file cases under the Aadhaar Act.

Petitioners had challenged three key aspects, that is the collection of biometric data of citizens before 2016 without any statutory backing, using the 12-digit number as an identity proof to avail public services and passing the Aadhaar Act in 2016 as a money bill which doesn't require the assent of Rajya Sabha.