Supreme Court cautioned that, it is concerned with reports of Aadhaar data being leaked. The government has argued that linking tax returns to Aadhaar- a unique 12-digit ID assigned to every citizen and linked to iris scans and fingerprints- is essential to check tax evasion. The apex court has, in fact, partially stayed the government order on linkage of Aadhaar with PAN by stating that those who have Aadhaar can link it with PAN. However, if you don’t have Aadhaar, the government cannot force you to get one and you can still file your IT return with your PAN card (sans Aadhaar).
The government says that aadhaar is necessary to prevent duplication of PAN – if more than one PAN is being issued, then it is the fault of the department. You are not willing to take the department to task but fixing the responsibility unnecessary on the common man. We have enough laws but what we lack is the will and honesty to implement them. The court also exempted those who have enrolled for Aadhaar but not got hold of one from the provision’s ambit. A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan exempted citizens without Aadhaar card from the ambit of Section 139AA.
Advising Parliament to “tone down” Section 139AA, the court said invalidation of PANs and restricting people from filing income tax returns would have “very severe consequences”. Both these categories of persons – those who do not have Aadhaar and those who have enrolled but not got possession of Aadhaar – can continue to file their income tax returns. Their PAN will continue to be valid till a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decides on the pending question whether Aadhaar scheme itself is a violation of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
This judgement may thus act as an impetus for the government to push the Supreme Court to set up a Constitution Bench and decide early on the issue whether Aadhaar violates Article 21 and privacy. The issue was referred to a Constitution Bench in 2015 and is still hanging fire. The Bench, however, said that citizens who already possess Aadhaar will have to link the same with their PAN. Over 95% of the population – 115 crore – already have Aadhaar.
The court said that Section 139AA will not have any retrospective effect or affect past income transactions. In short, this means that those who have already filed their income tax returns will not be touched. The court rejected the contentions of the petitioners that Section 139AA is discriminatory and an unreasonable restriction on the right to profession and trade. The court also rejected arguments that linking of PAN and Aadhaar should be voluntary. It said there was no conflict between Section 139AA and the Aadhaar Act.
The court warned the government against the data leakage of Aadhaar and biometric details. It said there should be “no chance” of such leakage either from UIDAI or the officialdom or contractors. The government had justified the linkage as a measure to combat fake PAN Cards and ration cards that have flooded the market and jinxed financial transactions. The government had argued that the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with PAN cannot be considered discriminatory merely because there are ‘conscientious objectors’ who refuse to take the Aadhaar in the name of freedom of choice, privacy and fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
The petitioners argued that the Indian Constitution was not a charter of servitude and “we are independent citizens who cannot be forced by the State to part with our fingerprints in exchange for being able to file our Income Tax returns”.
PAN allows for the tracking of all related monetary information of that entity. Quoting or producing a copy of your PAN card is compulsory in practically every major financial transaction including the purchase or sale of property, and is not restricted to Income Tax dealings.
Critics say that the Aadhaar system, which creates the world’s largest database of biometrics – does not have enough checks against leaks and can also allow the government illicit and intrusive digital surveillance and profiling of individuals. The Aadhaar database scheme, started in 2009, was set up to streamline payment of benefits and cut down on massive wastage and fraud. Last year, amid significant pushback from other parties, the government pushed through legislation that gives central government agencies access to the Aadhaar database in the interest of national security. Government officials said that the government had taken steps to ensure citizens’ privacy would be respected and the authority to access data was exercised only in rare cases. Meanwhile, according to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, Aadhaar was insecure, but it became secure automatically after he sworn in as India’s PM.
Anyway, if the security issues are made intact then, making Aadhaar card mandatory for availing all kind of government services be linked to Passport number ( to stop terrorists /criminals escape our country after committing crime), to book a hotel room or railway dormitory or rent house (to stop criminals misuse), mobile/telephone number (to stop misusing it), Driving licence and vehicle registration, property and land registration, marriage, death certificate etc. the terrorism/crimes/anti-national activities would fall drastically.
