Disability rights groups disappointed over Aadhaar verdict

Disability rights groups Wednesday expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court verdict which upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar, as they claimed that thousands of disabled persons would now be denied pensions and other social security schemes.

In a verdict with far reaching impact, the apex court upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar but limited the scope of the controversial biometric identity project, ruling that it is not mandatory for bank accounts, mobile connections or school admissions.

The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), a cross-disability disabled people's organisation, said the verdict would adversely affect the community.

"Apart from other concerns for the disabled, enrolment itself has been a major problem. Biometrics has been an issue. Even though there are provisions in the Aadhaar framework to use just one biometric for those with disabilities -- either the iris or fingerprints -- many centres and operators are either oblivious of this provision or are not adequately trained to handle this," Muralidharan, General Secretary of NPRD, said.

There have been innumerable instances where the applicants get acknowledgement, but the authentication is rejected at the main server level, he said.

"Unfortunately, the majority judgment of the Supreme Court does not take these concerns into consideration," Muralidharan lamented.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that while Aadhaar would remain mandatory for filing Income Tax returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), it would not be mandatory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and the telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections.

It would not be mandatory for school admissions, as also for the examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical entrance and the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The bench also struck down the national security exception under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.