Aadhaar verdict in Supreme Court: UIDAI welcomes judgement, terms it historical, landmark

New Delhi, Sep 26: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has on Wednesday welcomed the historical and landmark majority judgement of the Supreme Court on Aadhaar which has upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and accepted that there is a legitimate state aim in Aadhaar.

The apex court on Wednesday ruled that the Aadhaar scheme is constitutionally valid, but did read down certain sections of the Act.

Providing some relief to the common man, the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar will no longer be mandatory for getting new mobile connections, opening bank accounts, getting admission to schools, and to appear for University Grants Commission (UGC), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exams.

However, the court ruled that Aadhaar will remain essential for linkage with Permanent account number (PAN) and for filing Income tax returns (ITR).

There were 31 pleas filed in the matter. One of those was filed by former High Court judge K S Puttaswamy. The top court had reserved its verdict on May 10. The constitution bench Justices Ashok Bhushan, A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Chief Justice Dipak Misra himself.