Aadhaar-PAN verdict: Win for non-Aadhaar holders, bigger win for Modi govt

Has given the govt necessary ammunition to link more welfare and non-welfare mechanisms with Aadhaar

On June 9, the Supreme Court, while deciding three writ petitions filed by citizens “who claim themselves to be public-spirited persons,” upheld the constitutional validity of Section 139AA of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 (IT Act), which makes it mandatory to link an individual assessee’s Aadhaar number with his/her PAN number. Much to the relief of the petitioners, the court also held that those assessees who are not Aadhaar card holders need not comply with the said provision. However, while arriving at such a conclusion, the court made a few uncharacteristic observations which may inadvertently help the government