'How can it be case of fake identity' says SC, questions use of Aadhaar for drawing pension

The Centre represented by Attorney General, K K Venugopal said that the right to dignity is more important than the right to privacy.

Stating that there cannot be a doubt on the identity of retired government employees, the Supreme Court has questioned the mandatory use of Aadhaar for drawing the pension. The apex court said that there was no question of any impersonation as the pension accounts are operated by retired employees only.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said, "How would it be a case of fake identity? The employee pension scheme deals with pension earned by employees after rendering services."

Justice D Y Chandrachud, who is a member of the bench, gave the example of his late father and former CJI Y V Chandrachud saying only he used to operate the pension account and hence there was no question of somebody else operating it, said a PTI report.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday (March 21) told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar provides a right to physically exist without lying on the pavement without food. The submission was made before a Constitution Bench which is hearing a batch of petitions that challenged the constitutional validity of Aadhaar.

The Centre represented by Attorney General, K K Venugopal said that the right to dignity is more important than the right to privacy.

Further, the Centre said that through Aadhaar food, shelter and employment are being given to those who lived on the fringe. For this, the government has taken care that the right to privacy is affected in the most minimal way.

The court said that those downtrodden who need food and shelter also had the right to privacy and the state cannot violate it.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs