New Delhi: By enacting the Aadhaar law, the state has been handed over a switch by which it can cause civil death of its citizens and it is dangerous to democracy, argued senior counsel Shaym Divan in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Making his arguments before a five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, counsel said “The state is empowered with a ‘switch’ by which it can cause the civil death of an individual. Where every basic facility is linked to Aadhaar and one cannot live in society without an Aadhaar number, the switching off of Aadhaar completely destroys the individual.”
He argued that no democratic society has adopted a programme that is similar in its command and sweep. If the Aadhaar Act and programme is allowed to operate unimpeded, it will hollow out the Constitution, particularly the great rights and liberties it assures. A People’s Constitution will transform into a state Constitution, he said.
At the outset, attorney- general K K Venugopal requested the CJI to fix a time schedule for the Aadhaar hearing, as it has to be completed before February 8 when Ayodhya title dispute case hearing is to begin. The Bench, however, said it would consider this during the course of hearing.
