Right to privacy verdict: Aadhaar-PAN linkage to continue, says UIDAI CEO

Linking of PAN with biometric identifier Aadhaar will continue as previously directed and so will quoting of the 12-digit ID number for availing various government subsidies, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Thursday.

The Supreme Court verdict holding privacy as a fundamental right has in no way stopped quoting of Aadhaar for various schemes as well as filing of income tax returns, Pandey said. The Aadhaar Act — which entails its quoting for services ranging from getting subsidised cooking gas to opening bank account and obtaining a new phone number — had been drafted keeping in mind privacy as a fundamental right, he said. “We are very confident the Act will pass the test of privacy being a fundamental right,” Pandey told PTI.

Today’s Supreme Court “judgement has not said anything about the Aadhaar Act so the Aadhaar Act is a valid Act passed by the Parliament (and) is the law of the land,” he said. Section 7 of the act “prescribes that for getting certain subsidy or benefit the government can insist on an Aadhaar number. That position holds today,” he added. Asked if anyone can refuse to give their details in the backdrop of today’s order, he said, …read more