New Delhi, Sep 26 : The Supreme Court Wednesday declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as Constitutionally valid.
The apex court’s five-judge Constitution bench said Aadhaar means unique and it is better to be unique than being best.
The first of the three judgements was pronounced by Justice A K Sikri.
Justice Sikri pronounced the judgement for himself, Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar.
Three of five judges are of the view that Aadhaar is valid. “Aadhaar gives dignity to the marginalised. Dignity to the marginalised outweighs privacy,” Justice Sikri’s judgment reads.
Aadhaar fails only 0.232%. But dismantling Aadhaar now would mean disturbing 99% of the population enrolled. It is like throwing the baby out with the bath water, Justice Sikri remarks.
SC strikes down Section 57
The five-judge Constitution Bench has struck down the Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act that allows private entities to use Aadhaar for verification purpose.
Corporate body or any private person cannot seek Aadhaar from applicants, Justice Sikri’s judgment states.
Section 33(2) that allows UIDAI to share data with specially authorised officers in the interest of national security, has also been struck down.
