K.S. Puttaswamy (Retired) And Another v. Union Of India And Others, Supreme Court Of India, Judgment, Law, casemine.com

Citation Codes

Equivalent Citations

citation codes

Case Number

(Record of Proceedings),Writ Petitions (C) No. 494 of 2012 with Nos. 829, 833, 932 of 2013, 37, 220 of 2015, TCs (C) Nos. 151-52 of 2013, Transfer Petitions (C) Nos. 312-13 of 2014, 921 of 2015, SLP (Crl.) No. 2524 of 2014, Contempt Petitions (C) Nos. 144 of 2014, 470 of 2015 in WP (C) No. 494 of 2012, Contempt Petition (C) No. 674 of 2015 in WP (C) No. 829 of 2013, decided on October 15, 2015

Disposition

remanded

Judges

Justice Arun Mishra
Justice Amitava Roy
Justice M.Y. Eqbal
Justice Chockalingam Nagappan
Justice H.L. Dattu

See more information ...

Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

This order was issued by a specially constituted Bench of the Supreme Court of India for the limited purpose of deciding applications filed by the Union of India seeking clarification and/or modification of an earlier three-judge Bench order dated 11-8-2015 (2015) 8 SCC 735. After hearing the Attorney General for India and several senior counsel, the Court addressed whether additional welfare schemes could be brought within the scope of that earlier order governing the use of Aadhaar numbers while respecting prior directions issued from 23-9-2013 onwards (2014) 6 SCC 433.

Legal Issues Presented

Whether paragraph 22.3 of the order dated 11-8-2015 (2015) 8 SCC 735 could be modified to include additional welfare schemes—namely MGNREGS, the National Social Assistance Programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, and benefits administered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation—without diluting the earlier order.
Whether, pending final adjudication by a larger Bench, the Aadhaar Card Scheme could be made mandatory for availing benefits under any scheme.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent	Rule or Principle Cited For	Application by the Court
Order dated 11-8-2015 (2015) 8 SCC 735	Existing limitation on the use of Aadhaar numbers to specified schemes (PDS and LPG).	Modified to add four additional schemes while maintaining that Aadhaar remains voluntary.
Order commencing 23-9-2013 (2014) 6 SCC 433	Series of interim directions emphasising that Aadhaar enrolment cannot be made mandatory.	Bench reiterated that those directions continue to bind the Union of India.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

1. The Bench concluded that expanding the list of permissible schemes in paragraph 22.3 of the 2015 order to include MGNREGS, the National Social Assistance Programme (old-age, widow and disability pensions), the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, and EPFO benefits would not dilute the earlier order because the fundamental safeguard—that Aadhaar is voluntary—remains intact.
2. The Court reaffirmed that all previous interim orders, starting from 23-9-2013, continue to operate and must be “strictly followed” by the Union of India.
3. It expressly declared that the Aadhaar Card Scheme is “purely voluntary” and cannot be made mandatory until the matter is finally decided.
4. Procedurally, the Bench directed that all pending intervention and impleadment applications be listed with the main matters and requested the Chief Justice of India to constitute an appropriate Bench for an expedited final hearing.

Holding and Implications

Applications for modification/clarification were DISPOSED OF with modifications to paragraph 22.3 of the 11-8-2015 order.

Immediate Effect: Four additional welfare schemes are now provisionally permitted to use Aadhaar authentication, but enrolment remains voluntary. All prior interim safeguards continue, and the Union of India must adhere strictly to them. The matter is to be listed for speedy final adjudication before an appropriate Bench. The order sets no new precedent on the merits of Aadhaar but clarifies the scope of existing interim directions.

Show full summary ...

K.S. Puttaswamy (Retired) And Another v. Union Of India And Others

Order

1. This Bench is constituted only for the purpose of deciding the applications filed by the Union of India seeking certain clarification/modification in the orders passed by a Bench of three learned Judges of this Court dated 11-8-2015 (2015) 8 SCC 735.

2. We have heard Shri Mukul Rohatgi, learned Attorney General for India, Shri Shyam Divan, Shri Soli Sorabjee and Shri Gopal Subramanium, learned Senior Counsel in extenso.

3. After hearing the learned Attorney General for India and other learned Senior Counsel, we are of the view that in para 22.3 of the order dated 11-8-2015 (2015) 8 SCC 735, if we add, apart from the other two Schemes, namely, PDS Scheme and the LPG Distribution Scheme, the Schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mgnregs), National Social Assistance Programme (Old Age Pensions, Widow Pensions, Disability Pensions), Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (Pmjdy) and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for the present, it would not dilute earlier order passed by this Court. Therefore, we now include the aforesaid Schemes apart from the other two Schemes that this Court has permitted in its earlier order dated 11-8-2015 (2015) 8 SCC 735.

4. We impress upon the Union of India that it shall strictly follow all the earlier orders passed by this Court commencing from 23-9-2013 (2014) 6 SCC 433.

5. We will also make it clear that the Aadhaar Card Scheme is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided by this Court one way or the other.

6. All the applications for intervention and impleadment be heard along with the respective main matters.

7. Application(s) for modification/clarification filed by Union of India/Uidai is/are disposed of.

8. Since there is some urgency in the matter, we request the learned Chief Justice of India to constitute a Bench for final hearing of these matters at the earliest. Ordered accordingly.

K.S. Puttaswamy (Retired) And Another v. Union Of India And Others

Factual and Procedural Background

Legal Issues Presented

Arguments of the Parties

Table of Precedents Cited

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

Holding and Implications

K.S. Puttaswamy (Retired) And Another v. Union Of India And Others

Comments

We use cookies to improve your experience