In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court on September 26 laid all pertaining issues with individual privacy and rights at rests as far as Aadhar Card is concerned. The Supreme Court said that Aadhar Card was mandatory for filing ITR returns only. The highest court of the land upheld Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act that mandates linkage of income tax returns with Aadhaar Card.
The final verdict on the SC verdict on Validity of Aadhar Card is out. Following a 4:1 majority, the Supreme Court today held most of the Aadhaar Act provisions sans Section 57. The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Section 57 means that private entities can not use Aadhar card for verification purposes. These include telecom and e-commerce companies. The court also said that mobile phones and bank accounts need not be linked with Aadhaar card. However, Aadhar must be linked with PAN Cards for filing ITR ( income tax returns).
The Supreme Court also confirmed that the constitutional validity of Aadhaar is not questionable. But Conditions must be pre-set so that One right is not taken away at the cost of other. One of the judges hearing the case noted that “Potential surveillance is possible through Aadhaar”. Individual safety and safeguard is a concern.
