People have choice to opt for govt welfare schemes: HC

The court was hearing a plea challenging the mandatory requirement to submit Aadhaar card for availing benefits under the CM advocates welfare scheme

Welfare schemes of the government have certain terms and conditions and an individual could choose to not opt for those if he or she does not agree with them, the Delhi high court observed on Monday while hearing a plea by a lawyer who had challenged the mandatory requirement to submit the Aadhaar card for availing the benefits under the Chief Minister Advocates’ Welfare Scheme (CMAWS) of the Delhi government.

The petitioner did not want to furnish his Aadhaar details due to “serious unaddressed privacy concerns especially in the absence of a data protection law”. (Representational image)

“You can withdraw from the scheme; nobody will touch your Aadhaar then...It is a welfare scheme. If you don’t like it, don’t apply,” a bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Sanjeev Narula said.

Representing petitioner Gaurav Jain, advocate Chandni Chawla told the court that Jain did not want to provide his Aadhaar number to the authorities for the purpose of re-registration under the scheme in the absence of any data protection law. She added that her client was willing to furnish any other document as identity proof.

Advocate Chawla said Jain did not want to furnish his Aadhaar details due to “serious unaddressed privacy concerns especially in the absence of a data protection law”.

However, the court questioned as to how the privacy of the petitioner was being affected by sharing the Aadhaar card. The court granted time to the petitioner’s counsel to seek instructions on the matter and posted the matter for hearing on July 20.

The petitioner has said that he was successfully registered under CMAWS in April 2020, adding that there was “no legitimate requirement” of seeking Aadhaar details for re-registering for the scheme when the petitioner, a practising advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi, was otherwise eligible for benefits under the scheme.

“Aadhaar number does not help the respondent to ascertain the eligibility of an advocate for CMAWS. As far as the identity of the petitioner is concerned, the Bar Card, the CoP (Certificate of Practice) and the EPIC (Election Photo Identity Card) establish his identity beyond any doubt. Notwithstanding all the aforementioned reasons, respondent has made Aadhaar mandatory for registration/re-registration for CMAWS,” the petition said.