Supreme Court directs Chhattisgarh HC to deal with challenge to its Aadhaar for Bail order within ten days

The High Court of Chhattisgarh may have to reconsider its recent directive which had made it mandatory for bail applicants and sureties to furnish a copy of their Aadhaar cards, to the trial court dealing with their bail application..On January 5, this year, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra of the Chhattisgarh High Court had passed mandatory guidelines to this effect, in an effort to counter the menace of submission of sureties by fictitious persons. Comprehensive directions to verify credentials thus furnished, were also given..Challenging this order, a Special Leave Petition was filed before the Supreme Court by advocate Peeyush Bhatia..Terming the guidelines as perverse and a grave error in law, the petition contended that the mandatory requirement would affect thousands of prisoners and common persons who have been not been enrolled for Aadhar card. Therefore, the same would violate their Constitutional and statutory rights. .Further, it was pointed out that the impugned order failed to appreciate that a challenge to the Constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme is currently sub-judice before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court..The appellant had, therefore, sought a stay on the High Court order..The matter came up today before the Bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud..The Court today directed the High Court of Chhattisgarh to deal with the matter. This was done in light of the representation made on behalf of the Chhattisgarh Bar Council that it had already filed an application for modification of the impugned directions. The Supreme Court thus ordered as follows,.“We have been apprised by the learned counsel appearing for the Chhattisgarh Bar Council that it has filed an application for modification of the directions issued by the High Court in paragraph 10 of the impugned order..In view of the aforesaid, we would request the High Court to deal with the application as per law within a span of ten days hence.”.Read Order passed by the Supreme Court..Read copy of the Special Leave Petition..Read Order passed by High Court of Chhattisgarh.