[Day-31]Aadhaar As A Means Of Identification Should Be Subject To The Prerequisite That It Does Not Operate As An Instrument Of Exclusion:SC

On Day 31 of the Aadhaar final hearing, Senior Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing on behalf of the UIDAI, continued his submissions on the concerns regarding the conflict between the Fundamental Right to privacy, which the Aadhaar project is contended as being violative of, and other social and economic welfare rights such as the rights to food and shelter.To buttress his argument on the. On Day 31 of the Aadhaar final hearing, Senior Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing on behalf of the UIDAI, continued his submissions on the concerns regarding the conflict between the Fundamental Right to privacy, which the Aadhaar project is contended as being violative of, and other social and economic welfare rights such as the rights to food and shelter. To buttress his argument on the balancing of Fundamental Rights, he cited inter alia the judgment in Asha Ranjan v. State of Bihar, wherein it was observed, “.there can be a conflict between two individuals qua their right under Article 21 of the Constitution and in such a situation, to weigh the balance the test that is required to be applied is the test of larger public interest and further that would, in certain circumstances, advance public morality of the day. In respect of the reasonable expectation of privacy, Mr. Dwivedi advanced that the Aadhaar project satisfies the reasonable expectation in so far as the demographic information and facial photograph sought thereunder are being submitted to various institutions such as banks and universities and hence, are already in the public domain.Justice Chandrachud noted that the Aadhaar scheme does not seek data under the heads of religion, caste and creed.