Unique Identification (UID) or Aadhar card is now not mandatory for registration of vehicles and for applying for a learner/regular driving licence in Chandigarh.
Deputy commissioner M Shayin confirmed this to the Punjab and Haryana high court on Saturday in a reply to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Chandigarh resident Sanjiv Pandey.
Shayin submitted that an office order dated December 5, 2012, which made a UID card mandatory for the registration of vehicles and for applying for a driving licence, had been reviewed and withdrawn.
Following this, the division bench comprising chief justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and justice Rakesh Kumar Jain disposed of the petition. The petitioner had sought quashing of the Chandigarh deputy commissioner's order, saying that it had been passed in violation of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, and Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
The petitioner had also sought that the UT administration be asked to accept other proofs of identity and address, like a voter identity card, passport and other age proofs prescribed in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
Petitioner's counsel, Gagan Geet Kaur, had argued that when the application form for the registration of the UID card clearly mentioned that Aadhar enrollment was free and voluntary, the government could not force people to apply for it by making it mandatory for seeking essential public services.
{{/usCountry}}Petitioner's counsel, Gagan Geet Kaur, had argued that when the application form for the registration of the UID card clearly mentioned that Aadhar enrollment was free and voluntary, the government could not force people to apply for it by making it mandatory for seeking essential public services.
{{/usCountry}}Though the petitioner had also challenged a Centre notification issued on January 28, 2009, on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the court was informed that a bunch of petitions challenging the same notification were already pending with the Supreme Court for hearing.