May 11,2018:

On Thursday, Supreme Court reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging constitutional validity of the Aadhaar and its enabling 2016 law after a marathon 38-day hearing that spanned for four months.

Apex Court's Five-Judge Constitution Bench comprising of CJI Dipak Misra, Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan heard the arguments of all the parties before reserving its verdict.

A battery of lawyers including Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, who represented the Centre, and Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, P. Chidambaram, Rakesh Dwivedi, Shyam Divan and Arvind Datar appeared for various parties.

Petitions are directed at the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, 2016; the Aadhaar project from 2009 to 2016; parts of the project which are not covered by the Act; authorities’ attempts to make Aadhaar compulsory when not defined by the law; the government’s push to link Aadhaar numbers with SIM cards, bank accounts and PANs; and the move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits and subsidies.

On March 13, Supreme Court had indefinitely extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile phones, tatkal passports and for opening bank accounts till it pronounces its final verdict on the validity of the Aadhaar scheme.

Petitioners challenging Aadhaar argue that scheme of Aadhaar Act is a stark violation of citizen’s fundamental right to privacy.

Picture Source :