SC delivers a welcome judgment; Aadhaar cannot be an instrument of coercion

The Unique ID project was conceptualised as a strictly voluntary one. But over the years, telecom companies, banks, government welfare schemes had all started seeking Aadhaar for service provisioning

The Supreme Court delivered its decision on the constitutionality of the Aadhaar unique identification system on Wednesday, in one of the most anticipated judgments of recent years. Since it was introduced under the United Progressive Alliance in its second term, Aadhaar has been used across the government and the private sector as a form of easy identification. The State has claimed numerous benefits, especially to the exchequer, from its ability to cut down on duplication and leakage in welfare payments. But serious questions about its constitutionality and its overuse remained, especially given the Supreme Court’s resounding affirmation that Indians have