The Supreme Court on Monday said Aadhaar card cannot be made mandatory for availing benefits under social welfare schemes. "The government cannot make Aadhaar mandatory for extending benefits of its welfare schemes," the apex court declared.
This was stated by a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul. It added that a seven-judge bench has to be set up to hear the pleas challenging Aadhaar but is not possible at the moment.
However, the court said the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar in other schemes like opening of bank accounts.
Senior counsel Shyam Divan had challenged a spare of orders issued by the government making Aadhaar mandatory to access benefits under various schemes.
Currently, a number of social welfare schemes are linked to the Aadhaar, which means that individuals can avail the benefits only if they have the unique identification number. Earlier this month, the government had made Aadhaar mandatory for women of households below poverty line to be able to avail themselves of a free LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
Last month, the HRD ministry had issued a notification saying Aadhaar card was compulsory for school students to avail mid-day meal scheme.
