HC directs oil cos not to insist on submission of Aadhar cards

The Madras High Court today directed the oil companies not to insist on the submission of Aadhaar cards for availing of direct transfer of subsidy.
A Divison Bench of Justices R Sudhakar and V M Velumani of Madurai Bench said the Supreme Court was already hearing the issue, and till the apex court decided on it, LPG agents or the oil companies should not insist on production of Aadhaar card or submission of numbers etc.
The bench had already ordered notices be served on them to solicit their views on the matter.
The Petitioner S M Ananthamurgan, in his PIL, said gas agencies were insisting on Aadhaar card which was against a Supreme Court directive.

The apex court had said in September that Aadhaar was not mandatory for getting government subsidies. The central government had submitted that the document, which served as unique identity for Indian residents, was not mandatory for getting government aid.
Strangely, gas agencies were urging consumers to provide Aadhaar details along with their bank account details to get LPG subsidy directly into their accounts, the petitioner said.