The Supreme Court on August 30 said it would hear a batch of petitions on Aadhaar-related matters in November after the Union government said it would extend till December 31 the deadline to furnish Aaadhar to avail benefits of social welfare schemes.
A Bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said there was no urgency to hear the matter after Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told the court that the Centre would extend the September 30 deadline.
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Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing various petitioners, mentioned the matter before the Bench, also comprising Justices Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar, and sought early hearing on the batch of petitions, which have also challenged the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of social welfare schemes.
When Mr. Divan referred to the deadline of September 30, Mr. Venugopal said, “We [Centre] will extend it to December 31”.
After this, the Bench said, “The urgency is not there. It will be listed in the first week of November.”
The task before the sentinel: privacy challenges to Aadhaar
On July 7, a three-judge Bench said that all issues arising out of Aadhaar should finally be decided by a larger bench.
On July 12, the court said that its five-judge Constitution Bench will hear matters relating to Aadhaar, including the aspect of right to privacy.
The five-judge bench on July 18 constituted a nine-judge bench to decide on right to privacy.
A nine-judge Constitution bench of the apex court on August 24 declared the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right saying it is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.
The apex court was hearing three separate petitions challenging government’s notification making Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of various social welfare schemes.
