Why Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link is a bad idea
The Supreme Court hearing is about Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, a new amendment that was brought in surreptitiously via the Finance Bill, 2017. According to Section 139AA, the submission of Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometrics-based UID number for residents of India, would be compulsory to file income tax returns, and to obtain and retain the Permanent Account Number (PAN).
Unless the SC stays it or overturns the ruling, it would be a penal offence from July 1, 2017 to not submit one’s Aadhaar/UID number, or at least proof of enrolment, in order to pay income taxes in India.
In other words, not having Aadhaar would effectively be a criminal offence because it would turn perfectly law-abiding, tax-paying citizens into non-compliant ones on account of not having been able to pay one’s taxes.
Therefore, Section 139AA discriminates between citizens having Aadhaar and citizens who choose not to have one by effectively turning the latter into non-tax-paying criminals.
Essentially, Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality.
The Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link is a patently illegal and unconstitutional demand by the government, and the petitioners have challenged it on constitutional grounds. But the significance of the Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link case is not just limited to its immediate context, which in itself is huge.
It has a direct bearing on a number of issues connected to citizen’s right to bodily integrity, “informational self-determination”, personal autonomy, choice, equality before eyes of law, and of course the right to privacy, a core issue from which the petitioners were compelled to decouple the current hearing.
Electronic leash
The petitioners’ counsel, emphasised that Aadhaar acts as an “electronic leash” and creates potential for constant and continuous surveillance by the state.
The UID is intended to be connected to almost each and every facility and service, whether government or commercial, and is fast becoming a prerequisite to conduct any digital and other transaction as citizens or residents of the country.
Even though the Aadhaar Act 2016 specifies clearly that Aadhaar is voluntary, the government is making the UID an integral part of every aspect of being a resident/citizen of the country.
In stark contravention of the very law from which it stems, Aadhaar is either flouting the norms that guarantee its voluntary nature, or is hiding behind the largely nebulous nature of the law itself, particularly the vague phrasings, to create conditions in which it is made mandatory for availing services via countless tiny but incremental gazette notifications.
This is unprecedented. No other country has a unique identity based on one’s biometrics that is essentially the one-stop entry pass for being a citizen/resident of a place.
The social security number in the United States is not even remotely close to the gargantuan powers that Aadhaar in effect has over the lives of citizens. Moreover, SSN isn’t biometrics-based and it doesn’t even have a photograph connected to it, forget being tied to each and every service. more
Unless the SC stays it or overturns the ruling, it would be a penal offence from July 1, 2017 to not submit one’s Aadhaar/UID number, or at least proof of enrolment, in order to pay income taxes in India.
In other words, not having Aadhaar would effectively be a criminal offence because it would turn perfectly law-abiding, tax-paying citizens into non-compliant ones on account of not having been able to pay one’s taxes.
Therefore, Section 139AA discriminates between citizens having Aadhaar and citizens who choose not to have one by effectively turning the latter into non-tax-paying criminals.
Essentially, Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality.
The Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link is a patently illegal and unconstitutional demand by the government, and the petitioners have challenged it on constitutional grounds. But the significance of the Aadhaar-PAN mandatory link case is not just limited to its immediate context, which in itself is huge.
It has a direct bearing on a number of issues connected to citizen’s right to bodily integrity, “informational self-determination”, personal autonomy, choice, equality before eyes of law, and of course the right to privacy, a core issue from which the petitioners were compelled to decouple the current hearing.
Electronic leash
The petitioners’ counsel, emphasised that Aadhaar acts as an “electronic leash” and creates potential for constant and continuous surveillance by the state.
The UID is intended to be connected to almost each and every facility and service, whether government or commercial, and is fast becoming a prerequisite to conduct any digital and other transaction as citizens or residents of the country.
Even though the Aadhaar Act 2016 specifies clearly that Aadhaar is voluntary, the government is making the UID an integral part of every aspect of being a resident/citizen of the country.
In stark contravention of the very law from which it stems, Aadhaar is either flouting the norms that guarantee its voluntary nature, or is hiding behind the largely nebulous nature of the law itself, particularly the vague phrasings, to create conditions in which it is made mandatory for availing services via countless tiny but incremental gazette notifications.
This is unprecedented. No other country has a unique identity based on one’s biometrics that is essentially the one-stop entry pass for being a citizen/resident of a place.
The social security number in the United States is not even remotely close to the gargantuan powers that Aadhaar in effect has over the lives of citizens. Moreover, SSN isn’t biometrics-based and it doesn’t even have a photograph connected to it, forget being tied to each and every service. more
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Oct 31
Dear Sir UID should not be mandatory in India. On Sat, May 6, 2017 at 1:09 PM, Vishal Khanna wrote: > more
May 27
do all national is criminal and cheat? anywhere in the world seen like this ? as now it being perceived as of now in india! more
May 11
