NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for admissions in schools and by educational bodies like Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The apex court ruled that no child can be denied any schemes if they are not able to bring their Aadhaar number.
"CBSE, NEET, UGC making Aadhaar mandatory is bad and they cannot do so. For the enrollment of children, it would be essential to have the consent of parents," the SC said. The court said that no one can be denied their rights on the ground of lack of Aadhaar.
Reading out the judgement, Justice AK Sikri observed: "Education has taken us from thumb impression to signature, technology has taken us from signature to thumb impression."
The top court observed that Aadhaar is secure and unique. "It is better to be unique than the best. Aadhaar has become the most talked about expression in the recent years," Justice AK Sikri said.
There is a fundamental difference between Aadhaar card and identity. Once the bio-metric information is stored, it remains in the system, said Justice Sikri. Aadhaar empowers the marginalised section of the society and gives them an identity, Aadhaar is also different from other ID proofs as it can't be duplicated, he added.
SC said that minimal demographic and biometric data of citizens are collected by the UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment. Aadhaar number given to a person is unique and can't go to any other person.
