Aadhaar will not be mandatory to enroll for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) or any other all-India examination, ruled the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The order has come timely as the last date to register for NEET is March 9. A group of students approached the apex court challenging this requirement posted on the website of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) insisting on Aadhaar number as a valid proof to enroll for the examination.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar informed the Court that this was true even for other All-India based entrance examinations. He pointed out past orders by the apex court that clearly restrained Centre from insisting upon Aadhaar as a mandatory condition to provide any service or benefit.
The five-judge bench hearing the constitutional challenge against Aadhaar asked the Centre represented by Attorney General KK Venugopal on whether Aadhaar was mandatory to register for NEET. CJI Dipak Misra, who headed the five-judge bench, even wished to know whether a mandatory direction can be insisted upon by Centre and States in light of its previous orders.
Venugopal said, "We have not authorised CBSE to insist upon Aadhaar as identity proof to enroll for NEET." The need for a valid proof of identity is a must to avoid cases of impersonation, he added. However, he cited the exception in Jammu and Kashmir where students can register for NEET using their driving license, Voter I-card, passport or ration card and not just Aadhaar number.
He suggested to apply this rule across the country till the fate of Aadhaar is decided finally by the apex court.
The bench accepted this submission of A-G and made it part of its order. However, on the other aspect whether Aadhaar could be made mandatory by Centre and states, A-G replied that with the coming of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits, and Services) Act 2016, all previous orders passed by the apex court stood "wiped out"