One may tend to agree with the writer only when the piece is read fleetingly (“Legislation and legality”, June 20). If the core argument — that sharing the particulars of one’s Aadhaar and PAN numbers with others violates one’s right to privacy leading to an infringement of fundamental rights — is correct, it must also be borne in mind that such a situation can be deemed to have some rightly perceived and ingrained exceptions. There is no judicial direction that an individual must share such particulars with another but only with the governmental authorities for the individual’s credibility and safety. Take the case of one’s driving licence, for example. If a driver is involved in a road accident, he is bound to disclose the particulars of his driving licence to the police and is not expected to protest that the particulars are extremely personal. Disclosure or linking of one’s Aadhaar number to PAN is intended, inter alia , to streamline monetary transactions and to provide identity to each individual. Can anyone cite an instance where the modality had gone wrong? It is time we appreciate that certain measures are intended for the welfare of the people and the nation as well.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
