A day after the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar card issued under the Unique Identification (UID) project has no legal base and it cannot be mandatory for a host of services, the Government on Tuesday said it will push for passage of a long-pending Bill to provide statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the Winter Session of Parliament.
"We will bring the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 in Parliament during the forthcoming Winter Session for discussion and passage," Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said.
The UIDAI, which issues 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to residents, currently operates through an executive order.With the Government making the Aadhaar card mandatory for obtaining subsidy under welfare schemes, gas connections, marriage registration certificate etc, a set of PIls questioned how the Centre could pursue with the scheme without sanction from Parliament.
The SC also asked the Government to ensure that Aadhaar was issued only to Indian nationals and said that the identification number cannot be made mandatory for availing benefits of the Government's subsidy schemes.
The Bill to provide the authority legal backing was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2010 and introduced in the Rajya Sabha in December that year.
It was sent for scrutiny to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by former Finance Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.
"Now the Bill has been sent back to the Planning Commission by the Standing Committee with some amendments. We will soon take it to the Cabinet and try to push the draft for passage in the Winter Session," Shukla said.
The Minister said the UIDAI has not made enrolment for Aadhaar number mandatory for residents and it was for the Central departments, Ministries and State Governments to decide how to verify the identity of beneficiaries.
"Aadhaar establishes the identity of a person and not the nationality. It also serves as proof of residence. Moreover, it is a voluntary facility and not mandatory," he said.
According to an affidavit submitted by the Planning Commission in the Supreme Court: "Aadhaar is issued to residents on a voluntary basis. The consent of the individual is sine qua non before issuing Aadhaar numbers. It cannot be said that collection of biometric information of the subjects who volunteer to the same, amounts to breach of fundamental right."
The UIDAI, constituted in January 2009, functions as an executive body under the Planning Commission. The authority has been mandated to enroll and collect biometric data of 60 crore residents across 18 States, while data of the remaining 61 crore population would be collected under the National Population Register programme.