Aadhaar undergoes ultimate scrutiny, SC judgment landmark: Nandan Nilekani
Governance

Aadhaar undergoes ultimate scrutiny, SC judgment landmark: Nandan Nilekani

Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilkani insists the scheme is an inclusive one, says it has become stronger.

   

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of Infosys Ltd | Samyukta/Bloomberg

Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilkani insists the scheme is an inclusive one, says it has become stronger.

New Delhi: Former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani Wednesday termed the Supreme Court’s ruling, upholding the Constitutional validity of Aadhaar, as “a landmark judgment”, and said the scheme had undergone “the ultimate scrutiny”.

In a series of tweets, Nilekani, who is the architect of Aadhaar, said: “More than just opining on the constitutionality of the act, the SC has unequivocally validated the founding principles for Aadhaar. Aadhaar is a unique identity project that is critical to the developmental goals of the nation.”

In a majority judgment, a five-bench constitutional bench of the Supreme Court said that controversial Aadhaar “gives dignity to marginalised sections, which outweighs the harm”.


Also read: Aadhaar verdict is a criticism of the way Indian engineers look at world


Defending Aadhaar against the severe criticism heaped on it by members of the civil society and lawyers, Nilekani also said, “Aadhaar includes, it doesn’t exclude. The resident was once again recognised as being at the heart of the project, and they have gained new rights that help them assert their ownership over their data.”

‘Debates and discussions have made Aadhaar stronger’

In his final tweet, Nilekani said the “debates” and “discussions” had made Aadhaar stronger.

“Aadhaar has undergone the ultimate scrutiny in the highest court, and a lot of recommendations have been incorporated,” he tweeted. “Through the democratic process of discussion and debate, we have created a better and stronger Aadhaar together”.

While the apex court has upheld the validity of Aadhar, it has placed some restrictions on its use.


Also read: BJP heaves a sigh of relief after Supreme Court’s Aadhaar judgment


Significantly, the court has struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which had controversially allowed not just the government, but also private and corporate companies to make Aadhaar mandatory.

Disclosure: Nandan Nilekani, the founder of UIDAI, is among the distinguished founder-investors in ThePrint. Please click here for details on investors.