[Cites 12, Cited by 0]
Orissa High Court
Rohit Anand Das vs State Of Odisha on 12 December, 2025
Author: Sashikanta Mishra
Bench: Sashikanta Mishra
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
W.P.(C) No.8285 of 2025
(An application under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India)
Rohit Anand Das
and another ... Petitioners
-versus-
State of Odisha
and others ... Opposite Parties
Advocates appeared in the case through hybrid mode:
For Petitioners : Mr. A. Jebraj,
Advocate.
Ms. R. Shruti, Advocate
Ms. A. Kar, Advocate
-versus-
For Opposite Parties : Mr. S. Behera, A.G.A.
Mr. P.K. Parhi, DSGI with
Mr. D. Gochhayat, CGC
Mr. S.K. Sarangi, Sr. Advocate
with Mr. S. Sarangi, Advocate
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CORAM:
JUSTICE SASHIKANTA MISHRA
JUDGMENT
12.12.2025
Sashikanta Mishra,J. 'Privacy is an inherent human right, and a
requirement for maintaining a human condition with
dignity and respect'- said Bruise Schneier in his book,
'Schneier on Security'. It is a fundamental human right
that protects an individual's personal information,
choices, dignity and freedom from unwarranted
surveillance. It is recognized as a fundamental right
under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. A Five-
Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the case of K.S.
Puttaswamy vs. Union of India, (2019) 1 SCC 1 held in
no uncertain terms that right to privacy being an
important fundamental right encompasses various
aspects of life. Though not absolute, it can be subject to
reasonable restrictions only. The present Writ Petition
involves the question of interference with the Petitioners'
right to privacy.
Facts
2. Briefly stated, the Petitioner No.2 represented by
her father Petitioner No.1, is a student of K.G.1 in Sai
International School, Bhubaneswar. The Petitioner No.1
received a letter dated 28.12.2024 from the school to give
his consent for generation of an APAAR ID for his ward. A
consent form was enclosed to the said letter. Said letter
required the parents to give their consent along with a
copy of their Aadhaar Card to the class teacher by 10 th
January, 2025 for generation of the APAAR ID. The
Petitioners are basically aggrieved by such letter on the
ground that it does not provide the parents the right to
opt out of the requirement to submit Aadhaar details.
According to the Petitioners, the consent form contains
several clauses which could infringe their right to
privacy, as their personal information could be made
available to other entities. It also runs contrary to the
stated position of the Ministry of Education, Government
of India that the initiative is entirely voluntary in nature.
Petitioner No.1 therefore, wrote to the Principal of the
School expressing his apprehension and clearly
indicating that he would not be granting consent for the
creation of an APAAR ID for his daughter (Petitioner
No.2). He also indicated that the consent form provided
along with the letter dated 28.12.2024 did not provide an
option to refuse consent or opt out of the initiative. Since
the petitioners did not receive any response, they have
approached this Court in the present Writ Petition
seeking the following relief:
"It is, therefore, prayed that the writ petition may
kindly be allowed and by an appropriate writ, order or
direction the Hon'ble Court may be pleased to;
(a) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in
the nature of a mandamus directing the Opposite
Parties to amend the consent form given in Ministry of
Education letter dated 11.10.2023 vide Annexure-4 so
as to provide parents with the option to opt out of
issuance of APAAR ID;
(b) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction
declaring that the present consent form for the APAAR
initiative is not valid without the provision of an option
to refuse consent as this violates Petitioner No. 2's right
to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution;
(c) In the alternative, issue an appropriate writ,
order or direction in the nature of a mandamus
directing the Opposite Parties to rescind the Ministry of
Education letter dated 11.10.2023 vide Annexure-4
and related instructions/orders directing schools to get
APAAR ID issued and issue a new notification, if
required, wherein the option to opt out of issuance of
APAAR ID is clearly given to parents and displayed in
the consent form;
(d) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in
the nature of a mandamus directing the Opposite
Parties to strengthen safeguards with respect to third
parties authorized to accessing the database and
clarify that the data so accessed may not be retained
or used for any other purpose other than that
envisaged under the APAAR initiative;
(e) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in
the nature of a mandamus directing the Opposite
Parties ensure that all personal data of a user will be
deleted from the APAAR system on a request for
deletion of data by said user;
(f) Pass any other orders as this Hon'ble Court may
deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of
the case and in the interests of justice.
And for this act of kindness your Petitioners shall as in
duty bound ever pray."
Case of the Petitioners
3. According to the Petitioners, the Automated
Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) is a
measure introduced by the Ministry of Education (MoE)
on 29.7.2023, which commences the 'one student, one
unique I.D' initiative and aims to assign students unique
I.Ds linked to their Aadhaar numbers to track lifelong
educational records and consolidate all academic
achievements in one place. It is stated to be a voluntary
initiative as per information provided on the APAAR
Website. By letter dtd.11.10.2023, the MoE asked the
Chief Secretaries of all States to ensure creation of
APAAR ID of students of all Schools, with specific
instructions to obtain consent from parents. It was
accompanied by a sample consent form which, inter alia,
contained the following clause:
"I understand that my ward's APAAR number
may be used and shared for limited purposes
as may be notified by Ministry of Education
from time-to-time for the educational and
related activities. Further I am also aware that
my wards personal identifiable information
(Name, Address, Age, Date of Birth, Gender,
and Photograph) may be made available to
entities engaged in various educational
activities such as UDISE+ database,
scholarships, maintenance academic records,
and other stakeholders like Educational
Institutions and recruitment agencies.
[Emphasis Added]
According to the Petitioners, this violates their right to
privacy besides being non-specific as regards the limits
of the expression, 'limited purposes and stake holders
etc.'
4. Pursuant to such instructions of the MoE, the
State Project Director, Odisha School Education
Programme Authority (OSEPA) directed all District
Education Officers to accelerate and expand the APAAR
ID creation process by setting up special Aadhaar camps.
In the letter dtd.26.12.2024, there was a specific
mandate to ensure 100% coverage of Aadhaar to bring
APAAR ID generation to saturation mode. According to
the Petitioners, it seriously violates their right to privacy
and also runs contrary to the law laid down by the
Supreme Court in the case of K.S. Puttaswamy (Supra)
that there can be no compulsory requirement of Aadhaar
for school admission as per Article 21-A of the
Constitution. Further, by giving effect to the proposed
initiative, the personal data of the child would be
compromised. Though stated to be a voluntary measure,
yet there being no opt out/refusal of consent provision in
the consent form, same has to be treated as mandatory
in nature. In short, there is no scope for the parents to
refuse consent. It also runs contrary to the provisions of
Section 6(1) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act,
2023. There is no guarantee that the academic data of
the students would not be used even after the students
have completed their education. No safeguards have been
provided for protecting the usage of academic data of the
students from being accessed by third parties. This,
according to the petitioners, directly infringes their right
to privacy. While not opposing the APAAR ID initiative as
such, the petitioners only want that the consent form be
modified appropriately to include an opt out/refusal of
consent clause.
Stand of the MoE (Opposite Party No.3)
5. In the affidavit filed by Opposite Party No.3, it is,
inter alia, stated that APAAR ID is designed to provide a
unique, lifelong 12-digit identifier for all school enrolled
students to accumulate and store their academic
accomplishments. It will facilitate seamless transitions
between institutions for the pursuit of further education
and simplify the process of credit recognition and
transfer right from the school level, thereby streamlining
academic progression and recognition of prior learning
among many other benefits. The apprehension of the
Petitioner is unfounded in view of the fact that letter
dtd.11.10.2023 enclosing the consent form clearly
indicates that consent is entirely voluntary and the
information is for the students wanting to create their
APAAR ID. Schools can mark consent status as 'Yes' or
'No' in the UDISE+ database. Moreover, any data
collected through the APAAR ID of the students shall be
maintained in a confidential manner and shall be
masked when disseminating the said data to other
Governmental entities and shall not be disclosed to any
third parties. The last paragraph of the consent form
provides the option to withdraw the consent at any time,
which implies that no information/data shall be further
processed.
Stand of UIDAI and Meity (Opposite Party Nos.4 and 6)
6. It is stated that UIDAI and MeitY do not directly
interact with students, parents or schools in the
implementation of APAAR ID nor do they collect or
manage educational data. Their role is limited to
providing back-end authentication (in case of UIDAI) and
digital platform integration (in the case of MeitY). The
primary responsibility for the policy, implementation and
use lies with the Ministry of Education and its agencies.
Since no relief is claimed against them, they are not
necessary or proper parties.
Stand of OSEPA (Opposite Party No.2)
7. Acting on the instructions issued by the MoE for
generation of APAAR ID, OSEPA has taken necessary
steps for the same through its functionaries. APAAR IDs
have been generated in favour of only those students
who have submitted the consent form duly signed by
their parents/guardians. The data so collected is
protected in compliance with the data protection laws
and is kept confidential. It is an initiative to track the
educational progress and achievements of students,
enabling them to digitally store achievements like
examination results, holistic report cards, learning
outcomes and other accomplishments such as Olympiad,
sports, skill training or achievement in any other field.
The student can use the credit score for higher education
or employment purposes.
Stand of Sai International School (Opposite Party
No.5).
8. Notice to all parents was issued on 12.3.2025 by
the School as per directions of the State Government
contained in its letter dtd.26.12.2024. Said notice was
issued to help facilitate parents whose children did not
have Aadhaar Cards. The entire process was conducted
in terms of various notifications/instructions of the State
and Central Governments. Aadhaar card is a mandatory
requirement for creation of APAAR ID. In view of
notification of the State Government on 11.4.2024, a
similar notice was issued by the School to organize
special Aadhaar camps. The School has no authority to
take any independent decision except to abide by
Government instructions.
Submissions
9. Heard Mr. A. Jebraj, learned counsel for the
Petitioner, Mr. S. Behera, learned Addl. Government
Advocate for the State, Mr. P.K. Parhi, learned DSGI for
Union of India with Mr. D. Gochhayat, CGC and Mr. S.K.
Sarangi, learned Senior counsel with Mr. S. Sarangi for
Sai International School (Opposite Party No.5).
10. Mr. Jebraj would argue that though projected as
voluntary in nature, the absence of any enabling clause
in the consent form to be submitted by the
students/parents implies that it is mandatory. Unless
there is a specific clause giving an option to the
students/parents to opt out of the initiative or to refuse
to give their consent, it would violate the fundamental
principles relating to their right to privacy. Unless the
linkage of Aadhaar is made voluntary and the
students/parents are not compelled to share such data,
there would be no guarantee that such valuable personal
data would not be compromised. Mr. Jebraj further
contends that a 5-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in
the case of K.S. Puttaswamy (Supra) held that the
fundamental right to education under Article 21-A of the
Constitution could not be made subject to the
requirement of an Aadhaar Card, as there is a need to
specially protect the privacy of children. The State has a
constitutional duty to enable parents and guardians to
assert the rights of children and act in their best interest.
Mr. Jebraj also argues that though Section 6(1) of the
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is yet to come
into force and is scheduled to be notified within the next
18 months, its principles stand violated by insisting
upon creation of APAAR ID. The conduct of the
concerned authorities in initiating aggressive enrolment
programmes without any provision for opting out makes
the initiative mandatory in nature, which cannot be
countenanced in law.
11. Mr. P.K. Parhi, learned DSGI submits that from all
the communications, instructions and guidelines issued
by the MoE, it would be evident that creation of APAAR
ID of the students is a voluntary initiative and the
parents can always opt out of the Scheme. The model
consent form contains a specific clause permitting
withdrawal of consent once given and in such event, the
processing of the said information shall stop. There is no
question of forcing anyone to opt for the scheme.
12. Mr. Behera, learned Addl. Government Advocate
for the State, would argue that the State authorities have
acted entirely in line with the instructions issued by the
MoE and not on their own. He further argues that there
is no question of forcing any person to submit personal
information in the form of Aadhaar for creation of APAAR
ID. The students/parents can always refuse their
consent.
13. Mr. S.K. Sarangi, learned Senior counsel would
argue that the School has issued the letter in question
acting in terms of the Government instructions. The
School has itself not insisted upon any student/parent to
submit Aadhaar details mandatorily. It is always open to
the students/parents to not comply with such
requirement.
Analysis and findings of the Court.
14. The first thing that becomes apparent upon
considering the rival contentions is that the present case
is not adversarial in nature at all. This is being said for
the reason that while the Petitioners apprehend that the
APAAR initiative is a mandatory one; all the Opposite
Parties have unequivocally stated that the same is
voluntary in nature. In such view of the matter, it would
not be necessary for this Court to examine the relevant
orders/guidelines/instructions issued by the Central and
State Governments to see whether the initiative is
voluntary or mandatory in nature. But then, certain
apprehensions have been raised by the Petitioners
mainly to the effect that though projected as voluntary,
in the absence of an option to not submit to the scheme,
it, in effect, becomes mandatory in nature.
15. Before proceeding further, it would be proper to
keep in perspective the law laid down by the Supreme
Court with regard to the children's right to privacy in
K.S. Puttaswamy (Supra). The following observations
would be relevant:
"380. We have held that Aadhaar is a voluntary
scheme and, therefore, the Aadhaar number is to
be alloted to an individual on his "consent". No
doubt, for the purposes of utilising any of the
benefits under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, it
becomes necessary to have Aadhaar number.
However, the question is as to whether it can be
extended to children? It is more so when they are
not under legal capacity to provide any "consent"
under the law.
381. Article 21-A of the Constitution guarantees
right to education and makes it fundamental right
of the children between 6 years and 14 years of
age. Such a right cannot be taken away by
imposing requirement of holding Aadhaar card,
upon the children.
382. In view thereof, admission of a child in his
school cannot be covered under Section 7 of the
Aadhaar Act as it is neither subsidy nor service. No
doubt, the expression "benefit" occurring in Section
7 is very wide. At the same time, it has to be given
restrictive meaning and the admission of children
in the schools, when they have fundamental right
to education, would not be covered by Section 7, in
our considered view. The respondents made an
attempt to justify the linkage of Aadhaar with child
information and records by arguing that there have
been several instances of either impersonations at
examinations or bogus admissions which have the
potential to pilfer away various scholarship
schemes which the Government provides for
weaker sections from time to time. If this is the
objective, then also requirement of Aadhaar cannot
be insisted at the time of admission but only at the
stage of application for government scholarships.
Insofar as impersonation at examination is
concerned, that can be easily checked and
contained by other means with effective checks
and balances. When there are alternative means,
insistence on Aadhaar would not satisfy the test of
proportionality. This would violate the privacy right
of the children importance whereto is given by the
Constitution Bench in K.S. Puttaswamy [K.S.
Puttaswamy v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1] in
the following words: (SCC p. 630, para 633)
"633. Children around the world create perpetual
digital footprints on social network websites on a
24/7 basis as they learn their "ABCs": Apple,
Bluetooth, and Chat followed by download, e-mail,
Facebook, Google, Hotmail, and Instagram. [
Michael L. Rustad, SannaKulevska,
"Reconceptualizing the right to be forgotten to
enable transatlantic data flow", (2015) 28 Harv JL
& Tech 349.] They should not be subjected to the
consequences of their childish mistakes and
naivety, their entire life. Privacy of children will
require special protection not just in the context of
the virtual world, but also the real world."
384. It has to be kept in mind that when the
children are incapable of giving consent, foisting
compulsion of having Aadhaar card upon them
would be totally disproportionate and would fail to
meet the proportionality test. As the law exists
today, a child can hold property, operate a bank
account, be eligible to be a nominee in an insurance
policy or a bank account or have any financial
transaction only through a legal guardian who has
to be a major of sound mind. In cases where a child
is in conflict with the law, the child is given a
special criminal trial under the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and
there is a mandatory requirement for the records to
be kept confidential and destroyed so that the
criminal record of the child is not maintained. This
is the position in law contained in Section 11 of the
Contract Act, 1872, Section 45-ZA of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949, Section 39 of the Insurance
Act, 1938, Section 90 of the Penal Code, 1860
(which provides that consent of the child who is
under 12 years of age shall not be regarded as
consent), etc. Thus, when a child is not competent
to contract; not in a position to consent; barred from
transferring property; prohibited from taking
employment; and not allowed to open/operate
bank accounts and, as a consequence, not in a
position to negotiate her rights, thirsting upon
compulsory requirement of holding Aadhaar would
be an inviable inroad into their fundamental rights
under Article 21. The restriction imposed on such a
right in the form of an Aadhaar cannot be treated
as constitutionally justified."
16. The consent form appended to the letter dated
11.10.2023 shall now be examined. The same is
reproduced below for convenience:
17. According to the learned DSGI, the last clause
permitting the parent to withdraw consent is adequate to
assuage the apprehension of the Petitioners. Similar
argument is made by the State counsel. Learned counsel
for the Petitioners however, disagrees by submitting that
the aforesaid clause would come into play only after the
consent has been given. The question is not so much
regarding the permissibility of withdrawal of consent at
the subsequent stage than giving of consent at the first
instance. Similar consent form has been enclosed to
letter dated 21.9.2024 of the State Project Director,
OSEPA. The same form has also been enclosed to letter
dated 28.12.2024 of Sai International School.
18. A careful reading of the different clauses of the
consent form reveals that there is no option to refuse
consent at the initial stage. Nothing has been placed on
record as to the consequence that would entail upon
refusal of a parent to submit the consent form. The
withdrawal of consent as per the last paragraph of the
consent form cannot be treated as giving an effective
right to the parent to protect his privacy because by such
time the consent would already have been given. What
the Petitioners are concerned with is the right to refuse
consent altogether at the outset. Since the right to
privacy is a fundamental right and though not absolute
can only be subject to reasonable restrictions, the same
has to be protected and respected by the State at all
costs. As already stated above, the principle was
acknowledged and reiterated in no uncertain terms by
the Supreme Court in K.S. Puttaswamy (Supra). Since
the concerned authorities agree in unison that the
initiative is voluntary in nature, this Court can only
agree with the argument advanced by the learned
counsel for the Petitioners that the model consent form
has not been worded strictly in consonance with the
avowed objective of making the scheme voluntary. In
other words, the model consent form does not appear to
have been happily worded in this respect at all. If it is
intended to be a voluntary act, appropriate provisions
clearly specifying such fact ought to have been
incorporated in the form by providing option to the
parents to refuse to submit their consent or to opt out of
it entirely. Learned counsel for the Petitioners has
submitted a model consent form containing a refusal of
consent clause. This Court has perused the same and
finds it to be in consonance with the professed stand of
the authorities regarding voluntary nature of the scheme.
There is no reason why such a clause cannot be
incorporated in the model consent form.
19. Thus, from a conspectus of the analysis made
hereinbefore, this Court finds that the Petitioners have
made out a good case for interference by this Court.
Resultantly, the Writ Petition is allowed. The opposite
party-authorities are directed to consider amendment of
the model consent form to include an opt out/refusal of
consent option therein. The model consent form
incorporating such changes as provided by learned
counsel for the Petitioners to the learned DSGI may also
be considered. Necessary orders in this regard shall be
passed within two months from today.
................................
Sashikanta Mishra,
Signature NotAshok
VerifiedKumar Behera Judge
Digitally Signed
Signed by: ASHOK KUMAR BEHERA
Reason: Authentication
Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 12-Dec-2025 17:36:57
