Aadhaar Constitutional, But Not Needed For Bank Accounts, SIM Cards, College And School Admissions.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the Aadhaar scheme as Constitutionally valid. The apex court’s five-judge Constitution bench said that the Aadhaar is constitutional, but with some caveats.

Justice AK Sikri stated what all it can be used for, and who can’t make an Aadhaar mandatory anymore.

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— Private firms cannot access Aadhaar data — private companies cannot insist on Aadhaar number of customers.

— Phone companies, banks, or even security companies who control access to office buildings, cannot demand  Aadhaar card. Linking bank accounts, mobile numbers with Aadhaar is unconstitutional.

–Aadhaar not mandatory for school admissions — CBSE, UGC and NET cannot make Aadhaar mandatory.

— No child can be denied benefits for want of Aadhaar.

— Children can opt out of benefits of Aadhaar upon turning adults (18 years of age).

However,

— Aadhaar-PAN linking is valid.

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