Over with the ruling view in the Adhaar conclusion is silent on canceling biometric data already collected by phone companies, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s direction to do so will open a Pandora’s box, if implemented.
The Constitution Bench on Wednesday was unanimous in declaring that seeding of Aadhaar with SIM cards was unconstitutional.
Howbeit, even as the majority judgment written by Justice A.K. Sikri restricts itself to a paragraph on the issue of Aadhaar-SIM linkage, Justice Chandrachud, the heretical judge on the Bench, goes a step ahead to say that whatever data collected so far by service providers should be deleted forthwith.
Justice Chandrachud’s direction may open a Pandora’s box for future litigation, experts say.
Justice Sikri, writing for himself, Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, was silent on the status of personal data collected by service providers so far even as the court was deciding the very validity of the Aadhaar scheme.
Telecommunications on March 23, 2017, mandating the linking of mobile numbers with Aadhaar. The petitioners said the circular was illegal and unconstitutional.
