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Law ministry nixes plan to make Aadhaar mandatory for driving licences
The law ministry said Aadhaar could be a “preferred identity document” for a driving licence but linking it to licences should be “voluntary”.
Aadhaar, the 12-digit identity number, can’t be made mandatory for issuing a driving licence, the law ministry has told the road transport ministry which is coming out with a new application form for drivers, HT has learnt.
Aadhaar could be a “preferred identity document” but linking it to new licences should be “voluntary”, the law ministry said, citing the legal challenges the biometric identity number is facing in the Supreme Court. The apex court had on December 14 extended to March 31 the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various services and schemes.
A law ministry’s stand was reiterated at a meeting held at cabinet secretariat on December 15 to review the use of Aadhaar.
“As per the motor vehicles act, documents for proof of age and address is required for applying for driving licences for which use of Aadhaar has not been agreed by the department of legal affairs as it is only an identity document,” say the minutes of the meeting reviewed by Hindustan Times.
The department of legal affairs works under the law ministry.
Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and his law ministry counterpart Ravi Shankar Prasad have been batting for linking Aadhaar with driving licences.
Gadkari has said on many occasions a third of driving licences in India are bogus, blaming untrained drivers and badly designed roads for most of 150,000 deaths on Indian roads every year. Aadhaar, says the minister, will help in weeding out fake licences.
The law ministry’s direction came while vetting a draft notification issued by the road ministry to simplify the application form for a driving licence.
At present, there are separate forms for learner’s licence, driving licence, to make changes to the licence or for its renewal. In August, the road ministry decided to simplify the process by introducing one form for all licence-related issues.
Besides seeking vehicle details, the form also had a column asking for the Aadhaar number. The ministry issued a draft notification on August 29, setting a 30-day deadline for receiving comments after which the notification would have been finalised.
“However, when the road ministry sent the draft notification to the law ministry for vetting, the ministry said the form should specify that Aadhaar should be optional and nobody should be denied a driving licence if they don’t have it,” a road ministry official said.
The ministry was making changes specifying that Aadhaar was optional, the official, who didn’t wish to be identified, said.
The government is pushing the use of Aadhaar, saying it is necessary to plug leaks in its subsidy schemes for the poor and also ensure financial transparency.
But activists have voiced privacy concerns because it requires finger printing and iris scans. They also say it is denying welfare benefits to the needy.
The Supreme Court will from January 10 begin hearing arguments on the validity of Aadhaar.
