After months of back and forth over the Aadhaar ID, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Aadhaar ID is constitutionally valid, but WAIT! There’s more. The verdict was actually a setback for the NDA government with the apex court de-linking Aadhaar from everything except for welfare benefits and for filing income tax (IT) returns.
Key Takeaways on Supreme Court’s Verdict on Aadhaar
- Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of Aadhaar, but reads down certain provisions of the Act.
- Aadhaar not mandatory for mobile connections.
- Aadhaar not mandatory for opening of bank accounts.
- But, Aadhaar is necessary when applying for a PAN card and when filing Income Tax returns
- Authentication records cannot be stored for more than six months, rules the Apex Court.
- It is mandatory quoting of Aadhaar / Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of return of income and for making an application for alotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN card).
- Requirement of linking bank accounts to the Aadhaar card is unconstitutional.
- School admissions cannot be on the basis of Aadhaar.
- CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory.
- SC strikes down the National Security Exception. This means, investigating agencies would now require a judicial warrant to access data of a person under investigation.
![These are the key takeaways from the Supreme Court bench’s verdict on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2018-09%2F90594f4d-4ba1-4e34-b8df-0ea4b8a0d0f8%2FSC_on_Aadhaar_s_Validity.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
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Supreme Court on Data Protection and Safety
- Authentication records cannot be stored for more than six months.
- Provision to keep data for five years under the Aadhaar Act is bad in law.
- Section 2(d) of the Aadhaar Act read down to exclude metadata of transactions.
- A data protection law is needed as soon as possible.
![These are the key takeaways from the Supreme Court bench’s verdict on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2018-09%2Fc2d2b8de-730f-4514-8e59-fbf04d5dbf4d%2FSC_on_Aadhaar_s_Validity__1_.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
Supreme Court on Aadhaar and Education
- CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory.
- No child can be denied any schemes if they are not able to furnish their Aadhaar number.
- For the enrolment of children into the Aadhaar system, it would be essential to have the consent of the child’s parents.
- Children should be given the option to exit the Aadhaar system on attaining majority.
- School admissions cannot be on the basis of Aadhaar.
![These are the key takeaways from the Supreme Court bench’s verdict on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2018-09%2Fe3dc77ba-3db7-4bf5-929f-135e5b35ab8b%2FSC_on_Aadhaar_s_Validity__2_.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
SC on Linking Aadhaar to Essential Documents
- Aadhaar not mandatory for mobile connections.
- Telecom companies will now accept other documents like passport, driving licence and voter ID for a mobile connection.
- Aadhaar is no longer needed to open a new bank account.
- But, Aadhaar will be required when applying for a new PAN card and also, when filing Income Tax returns.
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Topics: Aadhaar Aadhaar Bill Aadhaar Act 2016
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