NEW DELHI: The government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for subsidised foodgrains through public distribution system (PDS) today came under the scanner of the Delhi High Court.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal issued notice to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and sought their response before the next date of hearing on April 24.
The bench also sought the stand of the Delhi government on the plea which seeks disbursal of subsidised foodgrains to the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), without asking for Aadhaar.
The public interest litigation (PIL) has sought quashing of the Centre’s February 8 notification, making it mandatory to have an Aadhaar card for availing benefits under NFSA, saying it violates the basic principle of law enshrinerd in Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The Centre has given time to those people who do not have the biometric-based unique identification number to apply for Aadhaar by June 30.
Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) after collecting biometric data of citizens.
Please click here to read more.