Centre approves promulgation of Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019

The Union Cabinet has approved the promulgation of an Ordinance to make amendments to the Aadhaar Act 2016, Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2005 and Indian Telegraph Act 1885.

The amendments proposed are the same as those contained in the Bill passed by Lok Sabha on January 4, 2019.

The cabinet briefing was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The amendments would enable the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to have a more robust mechanism to serve the public interest and restrain the misuse of Aadhaar.

Subsequent to this amendment, no individual shall be compelled to provide proof of possession of Aadhaar number of undergo authentication for the purpose of establishing his identity unless it is so provided by a law made by Parliament.

The Supreme Court in its judgement on September 26 last year and in other tagged petitions held Aadhaar to be constitutionally valid. However, it struck down a few sections of the Aadhaar Act and Regulations and gave several other directions in the interest of protecting the fundamental rights to privacy.