Law underlining Aadhaar will have to be strengthened: NITI Aayog

New Delhi, Sept 13: NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said that the law underlining Aadhaar will have to be strengthened in the wake of Supreme Court upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right.

“Article 21 has been interpreted again. The law underlining Aadhaar will have to be strengthened,” he said here at the conclave on fincial inclusion organised by United tions in India. The Supreme Court on August 24 had declared right to privacy as a fundamental right guaranteed by Constitution, a ruling that could have a bearing on the case related to Aadhaar that has been made mandatory in various services. The right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and persol liberty under Article 21, the court had said.

Aadhaar will thus have stand the test of constitutiolity as the Supreme Court’s decision on the legislation still pending. The government will have to prove that Aadhaar can restrain right to privacy on the grounds of dissemition of social benefits or tiol security.

Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Fincial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016, which aims to provide legal backing to the Aadhaar unique identification number project, was passed in 2016 by the Parliament. The NITI Aayog V-C said that at the core of the issue is mistrust in the minds of some relating to the protection and usage of Aadhaar data.

“We in the government need to work on it (removing mistrust) and try and do away with it to ensure we all are at the same page, in the same direction and for the same cause,” he said. (IANS)