NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a significant Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to introduce more stringent guidelines for the issuance of Aadhaar cards to adolescents and adults. The plea aims to prevent individuals without genuine Indian citizenship from obtaining the unique identification number.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the apex court’s causelist for May 4 indicates the PIL will be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, specifically requests directions for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to issue new Aadhaar cards only to children up to the age of six years. For older individuals, the plea urges the establishment of strict guidelines to ensure the integrity of the issuance process.
The Public Interest Litigation also seeks a directive to authorities to install display boards at common service centres across the country. These boards would clarify that the 12-digit Aadhaar number serves solely as a “proof of identity” and does not constitute proof of citizenship, address, or date of birth. The PIL has impleaded the UIDAI, along with the Union ministries of Home Affairs, Law and Justice, and Electronics and Information Technology, as parties to the case. All states and Union Territories have also been made respondents.
The petition highlights that Aadhaar, initially conceived as a means of identification, has increasingly become a foundational document. This has enabled individuals to acquire other essential identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates, and voter identity cards, potentially without proper verification of their status as Indian citizens. The plea states that approximately 144 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued, with 99 percent of Indians enrolled. The petitioner argues that the current verification process is weak and susceptible to manipulation, allowing infiltrators to procure Aadhaar by posing as Indian citizens.
The plea further elaborates that foreigners often apply for Aadhaar under a designated ‘foreign’ category. However, the concern is that infiltrators manage to apply under the ‘Indian citizen’ category, obtaining the card with relative ease. Once in possession of an Aadhaar card, they can then proceed to obtain other vital documents, making them appear indistinguishable from genuine Indian citizens. This situation, the petitioner contends, undermines targeted welfare delivery systems and leads to the diversion of public resources.
The PIL raises critical legal questions, including an examination of whether the Aadhaar Act of 2016 has become “temporally unreasonable” in its current form. The argument is that the Act has not kept pace with the legislative intent to effectively distinguish between foreigners and Indian citizens, thereby posing a risk to national security and resource allocation.
The Chenab Times News Desk