Aruna Roy moves SC on Aadhar

Social worker and former NAC member Aruna Roy approached the SC on Monday challenging implementation of the Aadhar scheme on the ground that several citizens without the Unique Identification numbers will be denied basic government services if the scheme is implemented. Ms Roy’s plea comes a day before the apex court is to hear petitions filed by the Centre and three oil PSUs seeking modification of its earlier order that Aadhar card is not mandatory and no person should suffer for want of it in getting benefits of government schemes. A bench comprising Justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A. Bobde said it will hear Ms Roy’s plea along with the other pleas on the Aadhar issue on Tuesday. “...The enrolment under the UIDAI is purportedly voluntary — yet many welfare schemes of the state seem to mandate the need for an Aadhar number to access those schemes — effectively making Aadhar enrolment compulsory,” Ms Roy’s plea said. The petition said the manner in which the biometric details of the citizens are collected by private contractors and NGOs without any safeguard makes it prone to misuse not only by private actors but also by the state.