Aadhaar and Right to Privacy

The Aadhaar card case expresses the privacy concerns of the citizens of India. In this case, the validity of the Aadhaar Act was questioned, and privacy-related concerns were raised in Court. According to this Act, a person's identity can be established by carrying out number-based authentication using their Aadhaar card for the following reasons:

• To avail of a benefit or service given by the Central or State Government
• To receive a receipt of a subsidy

The Supreme Court of India restricted private entities from conducting Aadhaar card number based verification, stating that it violates the privacy of Indian citizens. On 26th September 2018, the constitutional bench upheld the validity of Aadhar in a verdict carried out by the judges Deepak Misra, A K Sikri, and Ashok Bhushan. The dissenting opinion in the Aadhaar card case was given by the judges D.Y. Chandrachud and A M Khanwilkar.

Aadhaar and Right To Privacy – Important Points

In India, every citizen has the right to privacy. In December 2018, the government passed the Data Protection Bill, according to which a number-based authentication system can be carried out for the identification of citizens. This bill was the reason for the Aadhaar card case, which argued that the Data Protection Bill violated the citizens' right to privacy.

The Aadhaar card case was brought to Court, and a bench of judges passed a verdict. According to the verdict, the following statements were raised:

• The government should recognize all aspects of the Right to Privacy and Aadhar
• The government should address concerns about data security, unauthorized interception, surveillance, personal identifiers, and bodily privacy.

Aadhaar Card Case: Highlights

The Court thoroughly examined the Aadhar card case, focusing on the right to privacy. After considering numerous opinions of an extensive bench of judges, the Aadhar judgement underwent several changes since its inception. Here is all that you need to know about the Aadhaar card case:

• The government issues citizens with a 12-digit unique identification number, the Aadhar number, as identification proof to preserve the Right to Privacy and Aadhar usage. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the country's Aadhar card issuing and management authority.
• There have been numerous controversies surrounding the Right to Privacy Aadhar, as you cannot compromise the citizens' privacy in maintaining data online. Linking Aadhar cards to bank accounts, UPI applications, and other services has raised many concerns about citizens' privacy rights.
• After the Aadhaar card case, the Supreme Court said that Aadhar metadata could not be stored for more than six months to promote the Right to Privacy.
• However, the Aadhar Act provided for the storage of such data for five years. The Supreme Court has interpreted Section 2(d) of the Aadhar Act to prohibit government agencies from storing Aadhar metadata of transactions. The Court also stated that the Centre must bring a robust data protection law into force as soon as possible.
• There are revocations of some provisions of the Aadhar Act, including the portion of Section 57 that permitted private corporations to verify Aadhar data. It was ruled to be unconstitutional with a view to upholding the right to privacy.
• However, according to the Supreme Court's Right to Privacy Aadhaar card case decision on 26th September 2018, Aadhar is intended to aid in distributing benefits and preservation.

Aadhaar Card Case Conclusion

After the Aadhaar card case was heard in Court, the conclusion was that the Data Protection Bill did not violate the privacy of Indian citizens. Three of the judges' arguments differed, and Justice Chandrachud strongly disagreed with the majority decision, and his arguments contradicted those of the majority of the bench.

Multiple issues, such as protecting citizens at large, serving the interests of justice, and upholding the concept of privacy, were taken into account during the Aadhaar judgement. However, in the end, it was concluded that sharing Aadhaar card details is safe.

FAQs on Aadhaar and Right to Privacy

Q1. What is the Aadhaar Card case?

In the Aadhaar card case, the validity of the Aadhaar Act was questioned, and concerns regarding the right to privacy of Indian citizens were raised in Court after the government passed the Data Protection Bill.

Q2. What was the Supreme Court judgement on Aadhaar Card 2021?

After hearing the case, the Supreme Court judgement on Aadhaar Card 2021 was that the Data Protection Bill did not breach the right to privacy of Indian citizens. According to the verdict, Aadhar is intended to aid in distributing benefits and preservation.

Q.3. Is the Aadhar card violating my right to privacy?

According to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), sharing card details is safe and does not violate your right to privacy. However, after the Aadhaar card case, UIDAI maintains that people should exercise caution when sharing their Aadhar card details for digital activities.

Q.4. What is the Aadhaar case status?

After hearing about the Aadhaar card case, the verdict by the Supreme Court on 26th September 2018 was that Aadhar is intended to aid in distributing benefits and preservation. It does not violate the right to privacy of Indian citizens.

Q.5. Is sharing Aadhaar card details safe?

The Aadhaar card case raised the question of the safety of sharing the Aadhaar card details. As per the Supreme Court's verdict in the case, sharing details of the Aadhaar card is safe. However, people should still exercise caution while sharing these details online.