The hearing in Aadhaar case is progressing in the Supreme Court before a Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra..Senior Advocate Shyam Divan completed his submissions yesterday..Divan’s submissions revolved around issues pertaining to violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, particularly with respect to bodily integrity and informed consent..Divan told the Court that the State has no right over the body of an individual and the body of an individual in all liberal democracies belongs to the individual and not the State..“There is no eminent domain in so far as the human body is concerned. The Indian State has no right or entitlement and cannot appropriate the body of a citizen.”.He contended that the even though the State has a legitimate interest for identification of its citizen, it cannot compel a citizen to share their bio-metrics such as fingerprints and iris scan without the consent of the citizen..Divan proceeded to submit that biometric technology is unreliable and in the digital age, the theft of a person’s biometrics may lead to irreparable loss to the individual and could compromise the identity and safety of a person..Divan concluded his submissions by stating that the Aadhaar project and the Aadhaar Act have left individuals vulnerable to the digital world..“Personhood under the Indian Constitution flows from being alive, not from registering fingerprints and iris scans in a central depository.”.After Divan, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal commenced his arguments. The hearing will continue today..Read written submissions.
The hearing in Aadhaar case is progressing in the Supreme Court before a Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra..Senior Advocate Shyam Divan completed his submissions yesterday..Divan’s submissions revolved around issues pertaining to violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, particularly with respect to bodily integrity and informed consent..Divan told the Court that the State has no right over the body of an individual and the body of an individual in all liberal democracies belongs to the individual and not the State..“There is no eminent domain in so far as the human body is concerned. The Indian State has no right or entitlement and cannot appropriate the body of a citizen.”.He contended that the even though the State has a legitimate interest for identification of its citizen, it cannot compel a citizen to share their bio-metrics such as fingerprints and iris scan without the consent of the citizen..Divan proceeded to submit that biometric technology is unreliable and in the digital age, the theft of a person’s biometrics may lead to irreparable loss to the individual and could compromise the identity and safety of a person..Divan concluded his submissions by stating that the Aadhaar project and the Aadhaar Act have left individuals vulnerable to the digital world..“Personhood under the Indian Constitution flows from being alive, not from registering fingerprints and iris scans in a central depository.”.After Divan, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal commenced his arguments. The hearing will continue today..Read written submissions.
