New Delhi: As the Supreme Court held that the Aadhaar system was constitutionally valid on Wednesday, petitioners and activists rejoiced, however mixed reactions have been pouring in by citizens.
Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley welcomed the verdict. “It is a historic judgement and concept of UID number has been accepted by judicial review”, he said.
We welcome #AadhaarVerdict, India can't afford to be a tech laggard: @arunjaitley https://t.co/cRYvKQjztz
— EconomicTimes (@EconomicTimes) September 26, 2018
Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Ayog called it a “progressive verdict”. Speaking to ANI, Kant said that the verdict will bring efficiency in the country and plug leakages.
Tehseen Poonawalla, one of the petitioners in the case, expressed happiness at the apex court stating it was not necessary to link it to bank accounts and that telecom service providers couldn’t seek linking of Aadhaar.
“Oh jeez, Sekhri just said #AadhaarVerdict does NOT have to be linked to mobiles and banks!!! Amazing. He struck down section 57 of the #Aadhaar act!!,” he tweeted.
Oh jeez Sekhri just said #AadhaarVerdict does NOT have to be linked to mobiles and banks !!! Amazing . He struck down section 57 of the #Aadhaar act!! Big breaking g big
— Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) September 26, 2018
Cyber security expert, Pavan Duggal, also welcomed the ruling. “I welcome the Supreme Court verdict in the sense that Aadhaar is now ground reality, but loopholes that exist in Aadhaar should be tackled in a proactive basis. The issues of cyber security are among those the government should effectively work upon,” Duggal said .
Others remain critical?
As reactions continued to pour in, ‘netizens’ criticized the verdict on the ground that while Aadhaar need not be linked to bank accounts but it is mandatory to acquire a PAN card, indirectly linking Aadhaar cards to bank accounts,questioning the validity and logic behind the judgement.
Linking #Aadhaar with PAN is mandatory. PAN card is mandatory for opening bank accounts. Now supreme court says Aadhaar is not mandatory for opening bank account. What's the point?
Just trying to understand logic. #AadhaarVerdict
— Munzir Ahmad (@iamhacker) September 26, 2018
#AadhaarVerdict is NOT a balanced judgment. It's a HUGE loss for civil liberties. TV news anchors gloating about no mobile linking have NO IDEA what they're talking about. PAN linking makes it mandatory; allowing it as a money bill opens door to further constitutional abuse.
— Mihira Sood (@mihira_sood) September 26, 2018
Some also remained neutral on the verdict, though critical, they also lauded the judgment for its merits, like seasoned journalist Minhaz Merchant, who pronounced it as a ‘balanced verdict’.
Overall a balanced SC #AadhaarVerdict. Privacy protected (no Aadhaar for banks, mobiles, schools, private companies). Subsidies also protected (Aadhaar mandatory) against middlemen siphoning off benefits for the poor
— Minhaz Merchant (@MinhazMerchant) September 26, 2018
#SupremeCourt has delivered a balanced #AadhaarVerdict #Aadhar mandatory for PAN, income tax return & welfare schemes.
Not mandatory for schools, mobile nos & private companies.
No #Aadhar for illegal immigrants.
Still a feeling, linking bank account should have been mandatory.— Ajay Manjrekar 🇮🇳 (@Ajaymanjrekar7) September 26, 2018
The apex court’s five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra Wednesday said Aadhaar is meant to help benefits reach the marginalised sections of the society and it takes into account the dignity of people not only from personal but also from community point of view.
Also read- http://newsnviews.acjnewsline.org/2018/09/26/aadhar-card-a-timeline/
The verdict was pronounced on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar scheme and its enabling 2016 law.The bench had on May 10 reserved the verdict on the matter after a marathon hearing that went on for 38 days, spanning four-and-half months.
Edited by- Disha Jana