While upholding the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act in its recent judgement, the Supreme Court has read down provisions of the Aadhaar Act that would impact the use of Aadhar authentication by private parties under a contract. It has also struck down the mandatory requirement of linking the Aadhar Number with bank accounts and mobile numbers.
On 26 September 2018, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued their verdict in respect of the challenge on the Aadhaar project and the Aadhaar Act. The bench, by a 4:1 margin, upheld its constitutional validity and the requirement to link the Aadhaar Number with the national tax identity number - the PAN. However, the court read down and struck off various provisions of the Aadhaar Act as well as the requirement to link the Aadhar Number with mobile numbers and bank accounts.
This update analyses the salient conclusions of the judgement and, in particular, its impact on the private sector.