Aadhaar Case SC In English | Latest Burning Issues

Table of Contents

WHO DECIDES WHETHER A BILL IS A MONEY BILL OR NOT?

(a) President

(b) Chairmen of Rajya Sabha

(d) Minister of Parliamentary affairs.

ANSWER C – SPEAKER OF LOK SABHA

Money Bills can be introduced only in Lok Sabha (the directly elected ‘people’s house’ of the Indian Parliament).
The definition of “Money Bill” is given in Article 110 of The Constitution of India. A financial bill is not a Money Bill unless it fulfills the requirements of Article 110.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha certifies if a financial bill is a Money Bill or not.

AADHAAR VERDICT

The Supreme Court declared the Aadhaar Act, 2016, constitutionally valid In a 4:1 verdict, the Supreme Court found that the Aadhaar Act, 2016, was constitutionally valid. However, the court struck down some Sections of the Act, including Section 33(2), 47 and 57. It read down Section 33(1).

AADHAAR ACT, 2016

The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016 is a money bill of the Parliament of India. It aims to provide legal backing to the Aadhaar unique identification number project. It was passed on 11 March 2016 by the Lok Sabha

NOTES

The decision to introduce it as a money bill was criticised by the opposition parties. Ghulam Nabi Azad, an INC leader, wrote in a letter to the Jaitley that the ruling party BJP was trying to bypass the Rajya Sabha, as they did not have the majority in the upper house. A money bill is only required to pass in the lower house Lok Sabha.

NOTES

In the meantime, the Congress party has said they will move the Supreme Court against today’s order that validated the Aadhaar Act as a money bill.
Justice DY Chandrachud in his dissenting verdict said “Bypassing Rajya Sabha to pass Aadhaar bill as a money bill was a fraud on the Constitution.”Addressing a press conference, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal said they would challenge the verdict and seek a larger seven-judge Constitutional bench.

HOW THE VERDICT WAS GIVEN?

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, delivered the verdict. The bench also comprised Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan. Justices Sikri delivered the majority verdict, which was concurred by CJI and Justice Khanwilkar, finding the Aadhaar Act constitutionally valid. Justice Bhushan was in favour of Aadhaar as well. Justice Chandrachud dissented, and found it unconstitutional.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE AADHAAR VERDICT

A 5-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ruled that Aadhaar is mandatory for filing of income tax returns (ITR) and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN).
So if you are a tax payer or want a PAN card then you cannot run away from Aadhaar.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE AADHAAR VERDICT

Most commercial banks, payments bank and e-wallet companies like Paytm had so far been insisting customers to get their KYC done using Aadhaar card and had warned account holders that their services will be blocked in case of failure. Now they cannot seek Aadhaar data.
You would still need to fulfil other KYC criteria but Aadhaar authentication for bank accounts is now a thing of the past.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE AADHAAR VERDICT

To buy a new SIM card, your telecom service provider cannot seek Aadhaar details from you.
Just provide other KYC documents like Voter ID card, driving license, etc to get a new SIM card.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE AADHAAR VERDICT

Students of CBSE, NEET, UGC also do not require Aadhaar number to appear in exams. Even schools cannot seek Aadhaar card for admissions.
Aadhaar card is however must for availing facilities of welfare schemes and government subsidies as it empowers the poor and marginalised.
The Supreme Court has made exception for children saying that no child can be denied benefits of any scheme if he or she doesn’t have Aadhaar card. The apex court has struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act as “unconstitutional”. This means that no company or private entity can seek Aadhaar identification from you.