7581 - ‘Ensure people are not denied service for want of Aadhaar’ - Indian Express

‘Ensure people are not denied service for want of Aadhaar’

By: Express News Service | New Delhi | Updated: March 17, 2015 4:30 am

The Supreme Court Monday directed the Centre and states to make sure people are not denied any service or benefit for not having an Aadhaar card, and added those not complying with its order will be “taken to task”.

A three-judge bench led by Justice J Chelameswar asked all the authorities, including the Unique Identification Authority of India, to follow in letter and spirit its September 2013 interim order. The 2013 order had clarified that no person shall be deprived of any benefit or service for want of an Aadhaar card.

“It has been brought to the notice that the Aadhaar identification (card) is being insisted upon by various authorities. We are not going into the specific instances at the moment. We expect that the Union of India and states and all their functionaries shall adhere to the order dated September 23, 2013,” said the bench. It had earlier observed that “no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card” and that certain circulars seeking to make it mandatory will not be insisted upon providing for any service.

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Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, who appeared for one of the petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar, informed the court that various authorities demanded Aadhaar cards for the purposes of lease deed and marriage registrations.

At this, the bench asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, to ensure that authorities adhere to its earlier order. As Kumar argued that violations could be on the part of the states and the Centre had no role, the bench retorted: “This cannot be an excuse for you.”

The SG then responded by saying that the Centre will be writing to Chief Secretaries of all states in this regard. The Solicitor General later told the court that as all the states are party, they can be asked to ensure that the order is followed and their officials like District Magistrates are informed about it.

The bench is hearing a batch of petitions, challenging the validity of Aadhaar card and the manner in which data is collected by the UIDAI. It fixed July for detailed hearing of the petitions.

First Published on: March 17, 201512:45 am

7578 - No person should 'suffer' for not having Aadhaar cards: - dna

No person should 'suffer' for not having Aadhaar cards: Supreme Court to Centre

Monday, 16 March 2015 - 7:15pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

At the outset, senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, who appeared for one of the petitioners, said that despite the court order, authorities are insisting upon Aadhaar cards for the purposes of lease deed and marriage registrations and it is a matter of "serious concern".

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and all the states to "adhere to" its earlier order that no person should be denied any benefits or "suffer" for not having Aadhaar cards, issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

"In the meantime, it has been brought to the notice that the Aadhaar identification (card) is being insisted upon by various authorities. We are not going into the specific instances...

"We expect that the Union of India (UOI) and states and all their functionaries shall adhere to the order dated September 23, 2013," a three-judge bench headed by Justice Chelameswar said.

The bench had earlier said, "no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card in spite of the fact that some authority had issued a circular making it mandatory...".

At the outset, senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, who appeared for one of the petitioners, said that despite the court order, authorities are insisting upon Aadhaar cards for the purposes of lease deed and marriage registrations and it is a matter of "serious concern".

"Instances have come to our notice also," the bench, also comprising justices S A Bobde and C Nagappan, said and asked Solicitor General (SG) Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, to ensure that authorities adhere to its earlier order.

"There is no excuse for you (SG)," it said. The SG responded by saying that the Centre will be writing to all the Chief Secretaries of states in this regard.

The Solicitor General later told the court that as all the states are party, they can be asked to ensure that the order is followed and their officials like District Magistrates are informed about it.

During the hearing, the bench said that even judges of the Bombay High Court, as per a circular, were told to provide Aadhaar number to authorities. However, one of the lawyers said that that issue is now over.

The bench, hearing a batch of pleas against decisions of some states to make Aadhaar cards compulsory for a range of activities including salary, PF disbursals and marriage and property registrations, has now posted the matters for final hearing in the second week of July.

The court today also told Subramaniam that he can file an interim plea alleging violation of the order by citing a specific case.

"The general order of this nature will not do" and "we will deal with particular case to ensure compliance", it said.

Earlier, the court had said Aadhaar will not be mandatory and a person, who does not have Aadhaar, should not suffer in availing of government benefits and services like gas connections, vehicle registration, scholarships, marriage registration and provident fund.

It had asked the Centre not to issue Aadhaar cards to illegal immigrants as it would legitimise their stay.

"The scheme is complete infraction of Fundamental Rights under Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life and liberty). The government claims that the scheme is voluntary but it is not so.

"Aadhaar is being made mandatory for purposes like registration of marriages and others. Maharashtra government has recently said no marriage will be registered if parties don't have Aadhaar cards," senior advocate Anil Divan, arguing for Justice (retd) K S Puttaswamy, former judge of Karnataka High Court who has filed one of the PILs, said.

Justice Puttaswamy, in his PIL, has also sought a stay on the implementation of the scheme.

Making Aadhaar mandatory for various purposes raises questions over the government's authority to implement such types of the scheme, the plea had said, adding it also highlighted "the perils of the manner of its implementation".

The Centre had said the consent of an individual was indispensable for Aadhaar and it has been launched to "promote inclusion and benefits of the marginalised sections of the society that has no formal identity proof."

7568 - Aadhaar not mandatory to claim any state benefit, says Supreme Court - Business Standard

Aadhaar not mandatory to claim any state benefit, says Supreme Court

The apex court wants pending petitions against Aadhaar to be cleared first

BS Reporter  |  New Delhi  March 17, 2015 Last Updated at 00:18 IST

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to write to all the states to strictly comply with its earlier order of September 23, 2013, and not make an Aadhaar number compulsory to claim any state benefit. The court had then directed the government that the Aadhaar number should not be made mandatory for availing any government services.

Though Monday's hearing means status quo on the matter, it could add a bit of cautiousness to various ambitious plans of the Central government that intend to link Aadhaar with several government schemes, even though on a voluntary basis.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Aadhaar unique identity scheme for all citizens in the country. Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium argued that even in Delhi, the authorities concerned were insisting on the Aadhaar number for registration of marriage. The presiding judge, J Chalameswar also observed that in certain southern states, he had also found the authorities demanding the number.

Representing the government, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar admitted that some states were not following the court order. He said the government would write to them not to insist on the Aadhaar requirement. The government assured the court it would write to the chief secretaries of all states about the need to follow the court direction.

After the 2013 Supreme Court order, the previous government had made linkage of Aadhaar optional for disbursing various subsidies and welfare payments such as scholarships and pensions under its Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) project, and had put DBT in cooking gas in abeyance. The present National Democratic Alliance government restarted DBT in LPG, but gave citizens the choice of availing the subsidy in their bank accounts, without linking to Aadhaar number.

The government also launched several new initiatives with the UID number such as the Jan Dhan Yojana, biometric attendance of Central government employees, etc.

In most of the scheme, where the UID number was linked, it was not made mandatory keeping in mind the Supreme Court order. In the case of Jan Dhan Yojana, added benefits were defined for the residents who linked their Aadhaar numbers with the bank accounts. It is unclear if the purview of the order encompasses schemes such as the Jan Dhan Yojana. D K Mittal, mission director of DBT and former financial services secretary, said Monday's order doesn't change anything. “The court has just reiterated its past order... The government is not forcing anybody to give Aadhaar. In most cases, people are themselves coming forward to list their numbers since they find value in using it,” he said.

It was announced in the Union Budget 2015-16 that the DBT scheme would be further expanded to cover more schemes and residents. So far, around 800 million residents have been given Aadhaar and the entire country is expected to be covered by this June.

There are about a dozen public interest petitions pending for two years arguing the scheme was unconstitutional as the right to privacy of citizens has been curtailed by the information in the hands of the authorities. This information can be acquired by other entities and misused, the petitions allege. However, the government has taken the stand that there was no such violation and the scheme would weed out illegal immigration, help streamline distribution of essential goods to the poor and eliminate ghost names in the voters list. Monday's order is an interim one with the court continuing to hear further arguments on the issue of constitutional validity and privacy concerns around Aadhaar
.

7380 - Aadhaar to continue, govt tells top court - Telegraph India

Aadhaar to continue, govt tells top court

Our Legal Correspondent New Delhi, Feb. 13: The Narendra Modi government today told the Supreme Court that it intended to continue with the UPA regime's Aadhaar scheme.

However, a related assurance that entitlements would not be linked to the cards came under stress in court when two complainants challenged the claim.

The court then sought the response of Maharashtra and the Centre on allegations that the Aadhaar card had been made mandatory for judges of Bombay High Court for obtaining their salaries.

"The Unique Identification Authority of India would continue to act," solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar told the apex court during a brief hearing, indicating that the new government has no intention to scrap the scheme launched by its predecessor.

Kumar assured the court there would be no insistence on production of the Aadhaar cards for accessing any social scheme or welfare benefits.

However, former solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium and counsel Aishwaraya Rai, appearing for Bangalore-based petitioner Mathew Thomas, complained to the court that "the Maharashtra government had recently brought out a circular insisting on Aadhaar cards for payment of salaries of even constitutional functionaries, including judges of the high court".

Assailing the Aadhaar scheme, Subramanium told the court that the UID was not constituted under any statute and the scheme should be struck down forthwith.

"The Constitution does not permit such State surveillance. The UID is the first step towards profiling, tracking and stereotyping. Mere production of ID cards by people, upon demand by police, would neither absolve such persons of suspicion, nor would it prevent them from indulging in criminal activities," the senior counsel told a bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice A.K. Sikri.

Following the submission, the court issued notices to the Maharashtra government, the Centre and the RBI for their response to the specific charge.

The apex court was hearing a fresh PIL raising fears that the data collected would impinge on national security and the individual's privacy.

Petitioner Thomas sought the quashing of a notification issued in 2009 by the Planning Commission to set up the UIDAI for preparing the Aadhaar cards.

The petition claimed that data was being collected by certain foreign companies with alleged dubious credentials.

In 2013, a former Karnataka High Court judge had filed a PIL challenging the UIDAI scheme on the ground that it had no statutory backing and that it violated the fundamental rights.

The apex court had then restrained the authorities from making the Aadhaar card mandatory for extending any benefits. However, the matter could not be heard fully as Justice B.S. Chauhan, who was hearing the matter, had retired in July 2014. That petition is still pending.

Justice Dattu said that in view of the importance of the issue involved, a new bench would soon be constituted to deal with the two PILs.

7379 - Aadhaar not must: Govt to SC - Deccan Herald

Aadhaar not must: Govt to SC

Ashish Tripathi, New Delhi, Feb 13, 2015, DHNS:

The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar was not mandatory for people to avail of social benefit schemes, LPG subsidy and other public services.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar submitted before a bench presided over by Chief Justice H L Dattu that the government had complied with a previous order by the apex court.

The court, however, admitted for hearing a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) questioning the validity of Aadhaar and seeking destruction of data collected so far. The court had, on February 2, asked the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to clarify its stand on Aadhaar's validity.

Even though the government continued with the programme, it also followed the court's interim order that people cannot be denied service or benefit for not having an Aadhaar card, submitted Kumar.

However, the bench asked Kumar to file a formal response to the PIL filed by retired Army officer Mathew Thomas, and said the matter would be taken up by a special bench, constituted to hear a bunch of the PILs pertaining to Aadhaar.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Gopal Subramanium submitted that the Maharashtra government had issued circulars making Aadhaar number compulsory for its employees to claim wages, and even schools and other institutions were insisting on the card for granting of their facilities, such as scholarships.

He said the Reserve Bank of India had also made the number compulsory for the Know Your Customer scheme, and all banks were therefore insisting on Aadhaar identification.

Acting on a set of petitions, including the one filed by Justice K S Puttaswamy, the apex court had, on September 23, 2013, said: “No person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card, in spite of the fact that some authority had issued a circular making it mandatory, and when any person applies to get Aadhaar Card voluntarily, it may be checked whether the person is entitled for it under law, and it should not be given to any illegal immigrant.”

7378 - Complying with order on Aadhaar, Centre assures SC - Indian Express

Complying with order on Aadhaar, Centre assures SC

By: Express News Service | New Delhi | Posted: February 14, 2015 1:03 am

The Centre on Friday assured the Supreme Court that it was complying with a previous order of not making Aadhaar compulsory for people to avail social benefit schemes, LPG subsidy and other public services.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar made the statement as a bench led by Chief Justice H L Dattu admitted for hearing a PIL which questioned the validity of Aadhaar and sought destruction of data collected till date.

The bench had previously sought the NDA government’s stand on the validity of Aadhaar. Kumar said a batch of similar petitions were already pending in the court and it would be proper if this PIL was also heard alongside them.

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Kumar told the bench that there was an interim order issued in March 2014 by the Supreme Court that people cannot be denied any service or benefit for not having an Aadhaar card, and the Centre was complying with it.

At this, the bench asked Kumar to submit a formal response to the PIL filed by retired Army officer Mathew Thomas, and said that the matter will be taken up by a special bench constituted to hear the related bunch of PILs on Aadhaar.

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, appearing for George, argued that the Maharashtra government had issued circulars making the Aadhaar number compulsory to claim wages for its employees and even schools and other institutions were insisting on the card to grant facilities such as scholarships.

He said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also made the Aadhaar number compulsory for know-your-customer, or KYC, schemes and all banks were therefore insisting on Aadhaar identification.

The bench then made the Maharashtra government and RBI parties to the case and sought their replies.

The PIL has alleged that the security credentials of agencies collecting information from citizens were not thoroughly scrutinised. It further challenged the provision under the Citizenship Act, which empowered the Centre to issue national identity cards despite allegedly being in breach of the fundamental rights relating to privacy and dignity.

7377 - Will continue UPA's Aadhaar scheme: Centre - TNN

Will continue UPA's Aadhaar scheme: Centre

PTI | Feb 13, 2015, 09.15PM IST

NDA government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it will continue with the erstwhile UPA regime's flagship programme, the Aadhaar scheme.

NEW DELHI: The NDA government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it will continue with the erstwhile UPA regime's flagship programme, the Aadhaar scheme.

"Government has decided to continue with the Aadhaar scheme," solicitor general Ranjit Kumar informed a bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu.

The solicitor general was apprising the bench, also comprising Justice A K Sikri, which earlier this month had asked him to apprise it of the Centre's stand on the matter.

The scheme has come under severe judicial criticism in the recent past, with even the apex court staying the government's decision to link Aadhaar with the grant of subsidy, including that on LPG cylinders.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for a petitioner seeking quashing of the gazette notification of January 28, 2009 by the Planning Commission on the issue, submitted that the constitutional validity of the scheme should be examined now.

Subramaniam, appearing along with lawyer Aishwarya Bhati for Mathew Thomas, brought to the notice of the bench that Maharashtra government has linked the disbursal of salary of its employees through the Aadhaar scheme and the same was also applied for the disbursal of salary of the Bombay high court judges.

 UID or Aadhaar was launched by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi (R)and the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a tiny village in Maharashtra's Nandurbar on Sept 29, 2010.

As this submission was made, the solicitor general said Maharashtra government and RBI were not party in the PIL.

Taking note of the submission, the bench impleaded both as party and sought their responses.

The bench further said a special bench, preferrably comprising judges who had inconclusively heard the matter in the first round of litigation during UPA regime, will be set up to hear this PIL.

The order was passed after a brief hearing during which the solicitor general said the state governments might have insisted on the Aadhaar numbers, but the Centre had not.

He said he was not aware how many other state governments or public authorities had made the number compulsory even after the apex court order.

The court tagged the new petition to nine other public interest petitions pending in the court pertaining to Aadhaar.

The bench said since the previous bench had passed some interim order, all petitions will be heard after a month.

7372 - Aadhaar project will continue, govt tells Supreme Court - Business Standard

Aadhaar project will continue, govt tells Supreme Court

Before coming to power, NDA govt was opposed to Aadhaar, had said it would scrap it once it came to the Centre

BS Reporters  |  New Delhi  February 14, 2015 Last Updated at 00:30 IST

The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court it would go ahead with the unique identity project, Aadhaar.

Government counsels told the court the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) would continue its work and added the earlier interim order of the court making the identity card not mandatory for government services would be followed.

Before coming to power, the National Democratic Alliance government was opposed to Aadhaar and had even claimed it would do away with it once it came to power. However, since May last year, the government has not only supported the project but has pushed for its linkage with several welfare projects such as the Jan Dhan Yojana and the direct benefits transfer scheme in cooking gas.

The clarification of the new government came in the wake of doubts about its stand over the ambitious project started by the United Progressive Alliance government, when retired Army officer Mathew Thomas filed a petition in the court last month. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar gave the response on behalf of the government, which had asked for two weeks to come up with its official stand on the project. The petition was taken up by the bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu.

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium representing a new petitioner, Mathew George, argued the Maharashtra government had issued circulars making the Aadhaar number compulsory to claim wages for its employees and even schools and other institutions were insisting on the card for granting their facilities such as scholarships. He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also made the number compulsory for know-your-customer, or KYC, scheme and all banks were therefore insisting on Aadhaar identification.

The Maharashtra government and RBI have been made parties to the case after these arguments.

However, the Solicitor General said the state governments might have insisted on the Aadhaar number, but the Centre had not. He was not aware how many other state governments or public authorities had made the number compulsory even after the Supreme Court order.

For the moment, only the Maharashtra government has been impleaded in the case. The court also tagged on the new petition to nine other public interest petitions pending in the court pertaining to Aadhaar.

Since the bench that heard those cases and passed the interim order had changed, all petitions will be heard by a new bench to be constituted after a month. Meanwhile, the parties can file their affidavits clarifying their stands. According to the interim order passed a year ago, the court had said no one should be deprived of any social welfare benefits such as cooking gas or food ration, for want of an Aadhaar card.

So far, 758 million Aadhaar numbers have been generated and UIDAI has been asked to cover the entire country by March this year. However, there is still no clarity on the progress of the UID Bill, which will give legal sanctity to the body that has been so far running on an executive order.

7355 - Aadhaar legal, valid under Constitution: Centre to tell SC - Indian Express

Aadhaar legal, valid under Constitution: Centre to tell SC

Written by Ruhi Tewari | New Delhi | Posted: February 12, 2015 3:04 am

In what could be its first explicit and public endorsement of the previous UPA government’s ambitious Aadhaar project, the NDA government is expected to tell the Supreme Court Friday that Aadhaar is legal and valid under the  provisions of the Constitution.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had sought the NDA government’s stand on the validity and the manner of collecting information for the Aadhaar card under the aegis of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in response to a Public Interest Litigation. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had sought time till February 13 to give the government’s stand.

While the BJP had expressed reservations with Aadhaar when it was launched by the Congress-led UPA government, its own dispensation has given the project a decisive push since coming to power. Aadhaar has been made the basis of several social sector programmes and linked to key schemes, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself having shown keen interest in it. However, the government has not publicly made its stand on Aadhaar clear so far.

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According to officials, the government will state that Aadhaar issued by the UIDAI is legal and valid under Article 77 of the Constitution that validates an executive action of the government, taken in the name of the President.

The UIDAI does not have a legal backing and was created through an executive order of the government. The National Identification Authority of India Bill, which seeks to make UIDAI a statutory body, has been in cold storage. Sources say the Bill may have to be revived now with the government relying on Aadhaar for several schemes and the court raising questions.

Moreover, while UIDAI was established as an attached office of the Planning Commission, there is ambiguity over whose aegis it falls under now ever since the Plan body was disbanded to make way for NITI Aayog.

The PIL moved by Mathew George, a retired Army officer, has alleged that the security credentials of agencies collecting information from citizens were not thoroughly scrutinised. It further challenged the provision under the Citizenship Act, which empowered the Centre to issue national identity cards despite allegedly being in breach of the fundamental rights relating to privacy and dignity.

7313 - Spell out stand on Aadhaar, SC tells Centre - TNN

Spell out stand on Aadhaar, SC tells Centre

Amit Choudhary, TNN | Feb 3, 2015, 01.03AM IST

A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice A K Sikri asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to take instructions from the government and make its stand clear on February 13.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the NDA government to spell out its stand on Aadhaar card and whether it wants to continue with the ambitious programme initiated by its predecessor for giving unique identification number to every resident across the country. 

A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice A K Sikri asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to take instructions from the government and make its stand clear on February 13. 

The bench sought the government's stand on a PIL challenging constitutional validity of the scheme saying it is not backed by any law or legislation and violates citizens' right to privacy. 

Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the petitioner, a retired army officer, said that such schemes have already been scrapped by many countries and the Centre should be directed to destroy all data collected by it under the scheme. 

"Even illegal migrants in country are getting Aadhaar card, enabling them to avail government services which are meant only for citizens of India and not for mere residents. The avowed objectives of UID scheme are itself farcical and the entire exercise is nothing but colossal waste of public money and exposes India's vulnerabilities," he said. 

He said introduction of the UID project affects and abridges the rights of citizens and government has not got sufficient material to come to the conclusion that such an incursion on the rights of the citizens was necessary. 

The matter pertaining to constitutional validity of the scheme is already pending in the court as many civil rights activists filed petition against it and the court had earlier directed the government not to make Aadhaar card mandatory for citizens for getting any welfare benefits. 

The petitioner, Mathew Thomas, alleged that Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) itself is not making Aadhaar mandatory but other agencies like banks and insurance companies insist their customers to get UID to get continued services. 

UIDAI came into existence on January 28, 2009, for providing 12-digit Aadhaar number to those citizens who registered themselves. Its purpose is envisaged as a means to enhance delivery of welfare benefits and services. 

The number is stored in a secure database and linked to the basic demographics, biometric information, photograph, 10 fingerprints and iris of each individual.

7022 - Centre went ahead with DBT for LPG subsidy after A-G nod - Indian Express

Centre went ahead with DBT for LPG subsidy after 

A-G nod

Written by Ruhi Tewari | New Delhi | Posted: December 3, 2014 3:47 am

The NDA government’s decision to relaunch the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG subsidy in mid-November, albeit in a modified form, came only after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi gave his unequivocal go- ahead to it, even as Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had said re-starting the scheme would be in “clear contempt” of the court.

The UPA government had suspended the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme after a Supreme Court order that the government could not make Aadhaar numbers mandatory for people to avail of the benefits of government services and subsidies, including subsidy for cooking gas.

However, the BJP-led government re-launched the scheme from November 15 this year in 54 districts, but provided an alternative by introducing the option of consumers availing of the subsidy and receiving it directly in their bank accounts, in case they didn’t have Aadhaar numbers, though the latter was kept as the primary option.

This decision came after Rohatgi, in his opinion dated November 11 — four days before the scheme was re-launched — said he was of the “clear view” that last year’s Supreme Court order does not bar the launching of the new scheme as proposed by the government “in view of the alternative provided”. The Attorney General said even though “primacy” was given to an Aadhaar card holder, no beneficiary would be deprived of the benefits even if he/she did not possess one. The opinion went on to say no clearance or permission was required from the Supreme Court before launching the modified scheme and added it could be launched on November 15 as decided by the government.

The Union Cabinet had cleared the scheme on October 18. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, however, had opined on September 11 that the DBT scheme, if started, will be in “clear contempt”. Kumar had noted that “any action to be taken for restarting the scheme should require the prior approval of the court”.

Government sources claim it is likely that the government did a rethink after the SG’s unfavourable opinion and subsequently introduced the alternative of beneficiaries receiving subsidy directly in bank accounts, if they don’t have Aadhaar numbers.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/centre-went-ahead-with-dbt-for-lpg-subsidy-after-a-g-nod/#sthash.dPvwnwO7.dpuf

5889 - Restarting DBT might first need SC nod - Business Standard

Restarting DBT might first need SC nod

Solicitor-General seems to have also thought so, given an earlier direction that Aadhaar could not be made mandatory to get the subsidy

Surabhi Agarwal  &  Sudheer Pal Singh  |  New Delhi  October 21, 2014 Last Updated at 00:44 IST

The government might have rushed the announcement, against cautious legal advice, on re-starting cash subsidy transfers for cooking gas (LPG).

The problem stems from a Supreme Court (SC) order that the Aadhaar (Unique Identification) number should not be mandatory for availing of government services.

Since Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) in LPG had required a mandatory linkage of the Unique Identity number, a petition was filed by a former MLA, alleging contempt of court.

In response, the government had informed the SC that the scheme had been put into abeyance.

“This is why it will have to go to the court once again,” an official said, adding “perhaps the government should not have hurried this up (the announcement).”

The solicitor general, Ranjit Kumar, had in fact advised against implementing the project before taking the SC approval. Yet, on Saturday, the Cabinet said a modified version of the DBT scheme in cooking gas would begin from mid-November in 54 districts, and in the rest of the country by January.

The government had earlier sought the opinion of the solicitor general on re-starting the project, frozen by the former government in January. In a letter dated September 11, Kumar warned that restarting work on the scheme “may invite the court’s contempt”.

The government should first place the report of the committee appointed to study the project (headed by former Indian Institute of Technology director Sanjay Dhande) before the SC and seek an amendment to the court’s order, it was advised.

Business Standard has reviewed a copy of the letter.

It should be noted, though, that the government has only announced its intent to restart the project. Actual implementation is a month away.

A government official said the Centre was likely to approach the Court over the coming weeks and was “hopeful” of an okay to the modified version before mid-November. Another official said the government might not have to take SC permission for a re-launch but it would still keep the court “informed”. The court had said Aadhaar would not be mandatory for entitlement schemes, the second official said.

“We have done the same thing. We are saying the consumer will get LPG supply entitlement whether or not he/she has Aadhaar,” the official added.

Ground-level implementation challenges were cited as the main reason by the previous government for putting the scheme on hold. It had also formed a 12-member panel for a course correction.

The committee gave its report in May, suggesting the project was beneficial for containing subsidies. Before it was put in abeyance, DBT in LPG was operational in 290 districts and Rs 5,000 crore of subsidy had been transferred directly into the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of consumers.

The modified scheme will only start, as noted earlier, in 54 districts in the first phase. These have been chosen based on high penetration of Aadhaar numbers and its seeding with bank accounts
.