In a 4:1 judgement on Wednesday, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its 2018 verdict upholding the constitutionality ...
In a 4:1 judgement on Wednesday, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its 2018 verdict upholding the constitutionality of the Aadhaar Act, the basis for the government’s Aadhaar scheme to give every Indian resident a biometrically linked identity number.
While Justices AM Khanwilkar, Ashok Bhushan, S Abdul Nazeer and BR Gavai dismissed the review petitions in a paragraph, Justice DY Chandrachud wrote a dissenting opinion that runs to 16 pages. He argued that the review petitions ought to be kept pending till a larger bench that is set to look into matters that have consequences for the Aadhaar judgement gives its decision.
Chandrachud said that dismissing the review petitions at this stage would have serious consequences not only for judicial discipline but also for ends of justice.
As the Supreme Court works on the principle of the majority, it is the opinion of the other four judges that will hold.
In 2018, a five-judge bench headed by Justice AK Sikri upheld the Aadhaar Act as being constitutional. However, to assuage the fears of the petitioners that Aadhaar could be used as a tool of surveillance, the court had read down some provisions of the law and completely struck down some others. At that...
