SC verdict on Aadhaar welcomed by KS Puttaswamy, one of the original petitioners

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that Aadhaar would be voluntary and not mandatory with an option to exit.

Retired Justice KS Puttaswamy, one of the first to question the legality of Aadhaar, on Wednesday welcomed the landmark Supreme Court judgement upholding its validity but restricting it to disbursement of social benefits.

The Supreme Court, on September 26, 2018, upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar allowing the government to mandate the unique identity number to access subsidies and welfare schemes.(AFP File Photo)

“After holistic consideration, my opinion is that the majority judgement on the validity of Aadhaar Act is correct though I have not read the whole judgement yet,” the 92-year-old retired Karnataka high court judge told the media here.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that Aadhaar would be voluntary and not mandatory with an option to exit.

On linking of Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory, the retired judge said those who pay income tax are limited and they belong to a separate class.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)