Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi defends government’s decision in Supreme Court to link filing of tax returns, PAN with Aadhaar
Apurva Viswanath
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said in the Supreme Court that an identification system was necessary for an orderly society and to keep pace with technology, adding that the petitioners’ arguments indicated they wanted to live in a vacuum. Photo: Mint
New Delhi: Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi defended Aadhaar on Tuesday, saying a biometric identification system was an essential feature of contemporary society, and dismissed privacy concerns surrounding the unique ID number.
The country’s top legal officer submitted his arguments in the Supreme Court in response to petitions challenging a government decision to make the 12-digit ID mandatory for filing income tax returns as well as for obtaining and retaining a permanent account number (PAN).
The petitions were filed by Binoy Vishwam, a senior Communist Party of India leader; Bezwada Wilson, a Dalit rights activist; and S.G. Vombatkere, a retired army officer.
Rohatgi said in court that an identification system was necessary for an orderly society and to keep pace with technology, adding that the petitioners’ arguments indicated they wanted to live in a vacuum.
An individual has a social contract with the state under which no constituent can say “I don’t want to be identified,” the attorney general argued.
The petitioners cannot claim to live in a utopia where they imagine there is no state authority, he contended, adding that the state has the right to compel its constituents to do something under the law.
Can the petitioners say that they don’t possess a PAN card, a drivers’ licence or a credit card and that they live in the Himalayas, he wondered.
The attorney general will continue his arguments after the recess for lunch.